2ty?  1.  %  l^tll  SItbrarg 


Nnrtt)  (Carolina  £>lat?  ffiollrge 

0X475 
W5 


„„,«:«:»« 


S00686970 


128470 


This  book  may  be  kept  out  TWO  WEEKS 
ONLY,  and  is  subject  to  a  fine  of  FIVE 
CENTS  a  day  thereafter.  It  is  due  on  the 
day  indicated  below: 


■t54S 

FFB-f 


1984 
1986 


*W 


60M— 048— Form  3 


THIS  EDITION  IS  LIMITED  TO 
1,000  COPIES 
OF  WHICH  THIS  IS 
NO. 


THE    ROMANCE   OF 
OUR    TREES 


BOOKS  BY  THE  SAME 
AUTHOR 

ARISTOCRATS  OF  THE 
GARDEN 

CONIFERS  AND  TAXADS 
OF  JAPAN 

CHERRIES  OF  JAPAN 

A  NATURALIST 
IN    WESTERN  CHINA 


WILLOW    OF     BABYLON     IN     WESTERN    CHINA 


THIS  TREE  IS  A  NATIVE  OF  CHINA  AND  IS  NOT  THE  TREE  RE- 
FERRED TO  IN  PSALM  CXXXVII,  V.  1,2  WHICH  WAS  IN  FACT  A 
POPLAR.  THERE  ARE  MANY  "WEEPING"  OR  PENDANT  BRANCHED 
WILLOWS,  SOME  OF  WHICH  ARE  MORE  HARDY  THAN  THE  "BABY- 
LON "  WILLOW,   AND  ARE   VERY  COMMONLY  ACCEPTED  FOR   IT 

(Salix  babylonica) 


THE  ROMANCE 
OF  OUR  TREES 

BY 
ERNEST  H.  WILSON,  M. A.,  V.M.H. 

ASSISTANT  DIRECTOR  ARNOLD  ARBORETUM 
HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 


I  LLUSTRATED 

FROM 
PHOTOGR A  PHS 


GARDEN    CITY  NEW   YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,    PAGE    &    COMPANY 
1920 


COPYRIGHT,     I92O,    BY 

DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE  &  COMPANY 

ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED,  INCLUDING  THAT  OF  TRANSLATION 

INTO  FOREIGN  LANGUAGES,  INCLUDING  THE  SCANDINAVIAN 


TO 

CHARLES  SPRAGUE  SARGENT,  LL.D. 

PROFESSOR  OF  ARBORICULTURE,  FOUNDER  AND  DIRECTOR 

OF  THE  ARNOLD  ARBORETUM,  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 

AUTHOR  OF  THE 

"SYLVA  OF  NORTH  AMERICA" 

WHOSE  LIFE  HAS  BEEN  DEVOTED  TO  THE  STUDY  OF 

TREES 

AND  WHO,  MORE  THAN  ANY  OTHER  MAN  IN  AMERICA, 

HAS  AWAKENED  INTEREST  AND  PROMOTED  KNOWLEDGE 

IN  THE  TREES  OF  THE  NORTHERN  HEMISPHERE 

AS  A  TOKEN  OF  THE  AUTHOR'S  ADMIRATION 

AND  ESTEEM 

THIS  WORK  IS  DEDICATED 


vii 


128470 


PREFACE 

IN  THE  following  pages  an  effort  is  made  to  tell 
of  the  intimate  association  of  trees  and  mankind 
from  the  earliest  times.  Simplicity  combined 
with  accuracy  has  been  the  aim,  and  technical 
language  has  been  avoided.  The  opening  chapters 
treat  of  trees  in  general  and  serve  to  illustrate  the 
mutual  dependence  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  king- 
doms. The  records  of  geology  bear  witness  to  the 
continuous  and  progressive  change  in  character  of 
the  tree  types,  of  the  complete  disappearance  of 
many,  and  of  the  persistence  of  a  few  from  Coal- 
measure  times  down  to  the  present.  The  protective 
influence  of  religion  of  many  creeds  is  emphasized 
by  the  history  of  the  Ginkgo  and  of  the  Cedar  of 
Lebanon.  The  immense  value  of  the  Yew-tree  to 
the  warriors  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  influence  of 
war-like  migrations  and  wars  of  invasion  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  fruit  trees  is  told.  As  a  corollary  to  the 
development  of  the  civilizations  of  the  Orient  and 
Occident    two   parallel    groups    of  fruit   trees   have 


x  PREFACE 

been  developed,  and  the  blending  of  these  two  groups 
by  hybridizing  may  result  in  future  fruits  superior  in 
quality  to  any  we  now  enjoy.  The  romance,  the 
more  interesting  folk-lore  and  mythology  that  have 
gathered  round  certain  trees  like  the  Apple  and 
Yew  give  an  insight  into  the  early  life  of  our  fore- 
bears. 

The  types  selected  represent  the  patriarchs,  the 
giants,  the  pygmies,  and  the  curiosities  of  tree  growth, 
and  their  importance  in  the  embellishment  of  gar- 
dens, parks,  and  pleasure  grounds  is  emphasized. 
The  beauty  of  trees  at  all  seasons,  of  their  bark,  their 
flowers,  and  their  autumn  foliage  finds  expression, 
and  the  cardinal  idea  permeating  the  whole  work  is  to 
increase  interest  and  love  for  trees  and  gardens. 
Trees  are  much  more  than  sticks  bearing  leaves  and 
useful  as  fuel  and  as  a  source  of  timber  for  construc- 
tion purposes.  They  are,  indeed,  the  most  vigorous 
expression  of  life  and  its  most  enduring  form  this 
planet  boasts,  and  a  nation's  trees  should  be  esteemed 
as  national  treasures.  A  measure  of  a  country's 
culture  may  be  very  accurately  taken  by  an  analysis 
of  the  position  gardens  hold  in  the  people's  esteem. 
In  history  books  too  much  is  told  of  man's  destruc- 
tive quarrels  and  too  little  about  his  constructive 
work  in  developing  the  arts  of  peace.  Truly,  if  we 
delve  into  such  mundane  affairs  as  the  development  of 


PREFACE  xi 

the  fruits,  the  vegetables,  the  grains,  and  the  common 
flowers  of  our  gardens  we  may  learn  more  concerning 
the  real  progressive  development  of  the  human  race 
than  is  possible  from  the  history  books. 

The  preparation  of  these  essays  has  been  largely  a 
recreation,  and  in  sending  them  forth  in  collective 
form  it  is  hoped  that  readers  may  find  in  the  romance 
of  our  trees  not  only  interest  but  inspiration.  A 
resume  of  twelve  chapters  has  appeared  in  The 
Garden  Magazine  for  1919-20;  that  on  the  autumn 
tints  is  reprinted  from  my  "Aristocrats  of  the 
Garden."  To  the  esteemed  editor  of  The  Garden 
Magazine  I  am  indebted  for  helpful  criticism;  to  the 
publishers,  Messrs.  Doubleday,  Page&Co.,  my  thanks 
are  extended  for  the  courteous  manner  in  which  they 
have  met  all  suggestions. 

E.  H.  Wilson. 
Arnold  Arboretum, 

Harvard  University. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface ix 

CHAPTER 

I.     Their  Ancient  Lineage 3 

II.     Their  Present-Day  Distribution      .  15 

III.  Their  Rugged  Trunks 27 

IV.  Their  Autumn  Glory 35 

V.     The  Story  of  the  Ginkgo      ....  49 

VI.     The  Story  of  the  Cedar  of  Lebanon      .  77 

VII.     The  Story  of  the  Common  Yew      .      .  99 

VIII.     The  Story  of  the  Horsechestnut      .      .  117 

IX.     The  Magnolias 133 

X.    The  European  Beech 155 

XL     Our  Nut  Trees 173 

XII.     Our  Common  Fruit  Trees     .      .      .      .  199 

XIII.  The  Lombardy  Poplar  and  Willow  of 

Babylon 227 

XIV.  Trees  of  Upright  Habit 241 

XV.     Pygmy  Trees 255 

Index 271 

xiii 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

Willow  of  Babylon  in  Western  China        .     .     .     Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

The  Oldest  Living  Thing  in  the  World — A  Tree!  ...  6 

The  Greatest  Memorial  Avenue  in  the  World  ....  7 

The  Famous  Burnham  Beeches 14 

Cypress  of  Montezuma 15 

Ancient  English  Oak  at  Blenheim,  England      ....  22 

The  American  Elm 23 

A  Comparison  of  Tree-Bark  Characters — I       ....  26 

A  Comparison  of  Tree-Bark  Characters — II      ....  27 
Abnormal  Channeled  and  Fissured  Bark  of  Beech-Tree 

Growing  on  a  Dry  Soil 30 

Typical  Smooth  Bark  of  the  Beech 30 

Two  Forms  of  the  Ginkgo 50 

Ginkgo  at  Koyengi  Temple,  Japan 51 

The  Ginkgo  is  a  Link  with  the  Limitless  Past      ....  66 

Ginkgo  Avenue  at  Washington,  D.  C.      .           ....  67 

The  Cedar  of  Lebanon ....  74 

Typical  English  Yew ....  102 

Clipped  Yew  in  an  American  Garden.      .           ....  103 

Japanese  Yew  in  Its  Native  Land      .......  no 

Japanese  Yew in 

Two  Famous  Yews  at  Haddonfield,  N.  J 114 

The  Horsechestnut  Avenue  at  Bushey  Park,  England  .     .  115 

Three  Glories  of  the  Horsechestnut 130 

Two  Popular  Asiatic  Magnolias    .           '•  '3' 

Magnolia  Flowers 146 

European  Beech jfo 

XV 


XVI 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING  PAGE 

Weeping  Beech  at  Flushing,  N.  Y 163 

Eastern  and  Western  Hazels 178 

Japanese  Walnut 179 

American  Chestnut 182 

Common  Fruits  Which  Take  Us  Back  into  Ancient  Days  .  183 

The  Apricot  in  China,  Where  it  is  a  Native 190 

The  Shade  of  the  Old  Apple-Trees 191 

Cherries  and  Apples 210 

A  Chinese  Pear  at  Home 211 

Korean  Wild  Pear-Tree 226 

Weeping  Willows 227 

The  Lombardy  Poplar 230 

Florence  Court  or  I  rish  Yew 23 1 

Upright  Growing  Forms  of  Native  Maples 238 

Unusual  Upright  Forms  of  Two  Well- Known  Trees.      .     .  239 

Dwarf  Mountain  or  Mugho  Pine 258 

Pendulous  Dwarf  Hemlock 258 

Some  Really  Dwarf  Evergreens 259 

Prostrate  Form  of  the  Red  Cedar 259 


CHAPTER     I 
THEIR    ANCIENT    LINEAGE 


THE  ROMANCE  OF  OUR  TREES 

CHAPTER    I 
THEIR    ANCIENT     LINEAGE 

FROM  the  earliest  glimpses  preserved  to  us  of 
the  development  of  the  human  race  we  find 
that  trees  have  exercised  a  beneficent  influ- 
ence on  man's  character  and  uplift.  They  figure 
prominently  in  the  records,  written  and  oral,  of  all 
religious  systems  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Indeed, 
the  connection  of  trees  with  religion  is  as  old  as  the 
conception  of  the  deity  itself.  North  and  south, 
east  and  west,  we  find  the  same  idea.  In  the  most 
universally  prized  of  all  the  books,  the  Bible,  trees 
are  ofttimes  mentioned.  In  Genesis,  chap.  II,  v.  9, 
"And  out  of  the  ground  made  the  Lord  God  to  grow 
every  tree  that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight,  and  good  for 
food;  the  tree  of  life  also  in  the  midst  of  the  garden, 
and  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil."  All 
are  familiar  with  the  biblical  story  of  man's  fall  and 
banishment  from  the  Garden  of  Eden  through  dis- 
obeying God's  commands  in  reference  to  these  trees. 
3 


0.  H.  HILL  LIBRARY 
North  Carolina  State  College 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Those  who  have  studied  the  folk-lore  of  primitive 
man  tell  us  that  the  legend  of  good  and  evil  trees  is 
almost  universal,  and  that  they  are  intimately 
connected  with  man's  own  story  of  his  develop- 
ment. As  man  congregated,  built  homes  of  mud, 
brick,  and  stone,  his  energies  became  more  and  more 
absorbed  in  gaining  wealth,  and  this  has  repeatedly 
led  to  his  own  destruction  and  that  of  his  kindred. 
The  same  thing  obtains  to-day.  The  happy  and  con- 
tented among  us  are  those  whose  thoughts  are  not 
wholly  engrossed  in  laying  up  treasure  in  gold,  silver, 
and  precious  stones  but  who  take  an  intelligent  inter- 
est in  Nature's  treasures,  preserve  them,  and  prize 
them  at  their  true  worth. 

When  looking  at  a  tree — any  tree — say  in  summer, 
what  do  we  see?  A  stout  stem  or  trunk  firmly  fixed 
in  the  earth  and  bearing  aloft  many  branches,  great 
and  small,  each  more  or  less  crowded  with  green 
leaves;  occasionally  flowers  are  conspicuous.  Con- 
templating a  wood  or  a  forest  we  note  the  fact  that 
trees  are  not  all  alike.  They  differ  in  size  and  form 
and  in  shades  of  colour,  and,  looking  closer,  we  see 
that  the  stem  may  be  white,  gray,  or  nearly  black, 
and  that  its  surface  may  be  smooth  or  rough;  also 
that  the  outer  covering  of  the  stem  may  be  loose  and 
scale  off  in  patches,  thin  or  thick,  in  papery  rolls,  or, 
it  may  be  firm  and  deeply  fissured.  In  the  autumn 
4 


THEIR    ANCIENT     LINEAGE 

we  note  that  on  many  trees  the  leaves  change  from 
green  to  beautiful  hues  of  purple,  crimson,  orange, 
yellow,  and  leather-brown;  in  the  winter  that  many 
trees  are  entirely  leafless,  look  stark  and  dead,  others 
bear  brownish  leaves  which  rustle  in  the  wind  but  are 
obviously  lifeless.  Other  trees,  on  the  contrary,  are 
clothed  with  small  dark  green  or  gray-green  leaves 
even  as  they  were  in  spring,  summer,  and  autumn. 
Those  of  an  inquiring  turn  of  mind  are  quick  to  per- 
ceive other  points  of  difference  and  soon  realize  that 
among  the  group  of  life-forms  we  designate  as  trees 
variety  is  infinite.  Scarcely  two  are  identical  in  out- 
line and  detail,  and  although  some  sort  of  classifica- 
tion is  obviously  possible,  almost  every  tree  has  an 
individuality  of  its  own.  The  beauty  of  trees — their 
form,  foliage,  flowers,  and  the  tracery  of  their  branches 
— appeals  to  the  artistic  instinct  of  man;  their  cool, 
shade-giving  qualities  in  the  heat  of  summer  are  ap- 
preciated by  man  and  animals  alike,  and  so  also  are 
the  edible  fruits  which  many  kinds  of  trees  produce  in 
the  autumn.  But  alas!  the  utilitarian  spirit  so  domi- 
nates the  world  in  general,  and  modern  civilization 
in  particular,  that  comparatively  few  people  see  any- 
thing in  the  trees  which  form  our  woods  and  forests 
except  a  source  of  fuel,  of  lumber,  of  pulp  for  paper- 
making  or  of  some  other  product  useful  for  manu- 
facturing purposes.     Too  often  even  their  very  use- 

5 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

fulness  in  the  arts  and  crafts  of  man  is  ignored  and 

trees  are  regarded  as  mere  useless  encumbrances  of 

the  ground  to  be  ruthlessly  felled  to  make  room  for 

houses,  fields,  and  highways. 

Since  our  earliest  days  we  have  been  familiar  with 

trees  as  things  that  are:  what  they  are,  and  why  they 

are,  interest  but  very  few.     A  trip  across  the  dreary 

deserts  and  treeless  plains  of  the  western  part  of  this 

country  brings  many  to  an  appreciation  of  trees  and 

green    things    generally.     Would   that   more  of  us 

could  realize  the  truth  so  admirably  expressed  in  the 

splendid  tribute  to  "Trees"  by  Joyce  Kilmer  who 

was  killed  in  the  trenches  of  battle-scarred  northern 

France: 

I  think  that  I  shall  never  see 
A  poem  as  lovely  as  a  tree; 
A  tree  whose  hungry  mouth  is  prest 
Against  the  earth's  sweet-flowing  breast; 
A  tree  that  looks  at  God  all  day 
And  lifts  her  leafy  arms  to  pray; 
A  tree  that  may  in  summer  wear 
A  nest  of  robins  in  her  hair; 
Upon  whose  bosom  snow  has  lain; 
Who  intimately  lives  with  rain. 
Poems  are  made  by  fools  like  me, 
But  only  God  can  make  a  tree. 

Rightly  considered  trees  are  the  noblest  product  of 
the  earth.     Look  how  they  rear  themselves  against 
gravity  for  from  50  to   100,  aye  to  400  feet;  how 
6 


THE    OLDEST    LIVING    THING    IN    THE    WORLD 


A    TREE 


GENERA1  SHERMAN  BIG  I  KM  IN  SEQUOIA  NA- 
TIONAL PARK,  CALIFORNIA,  2,000  \l  VRS  OLD  WHEN 
JESUS    OF    NAZARETH    WAS    BORN.       II     IS    NOV     2~i)    I   I. 

high;  ;<>'  ft.  in  diami  1 1  k        {Sequoia  sempervii 


THE     GREATEST     MHMOKIAL     AVENUE     IN     THE     WORLD 


PLANTED  ALONG  24  MILES  OF  HIGHWAY  AT  NIKKO,  JAPAN, 
LEADING  TO  THE  TOMB  OF  IEYASU,  FATHER  OF  THE  SECOND 
SHOGUN  OF  THE  TOKUGAWA  DYNASTY.  BEGUN  IN  l6>I  AND 
COMPLETED     IN     20     YEARS.       THERE     NOW     STAND     18,308     TREES 

(Cryptomeria  japonica) 


THEIR    ANCIENT     LINEAGE 

they  resist  the  storms  of  every  season,  the  winter's 
cold,  the  summer's  heat.  They  are  a  most  wonder- 
ful expression  of  life,  year  by  year  adding  to  their 
dimensions — often  through  centuries — flourish  whilst 
generations  of  mankind  come  and  go,  reach  their 
optimum,  produce  seeds  to  perpetuate  their  kind, 
and  finally  obey  the  law  inevitable:  die,  and  give 
place  to  others.  Their  structure  built  of  myriads 
of  minute  cells  piled  on  and  around  each  other  and 
differentiated  into  tissues  of  varying  thicknesses  and 
forms  as  best  adapted  to  the  work  each  has  to  per- 
form in  the  life  economy  of  the  whole  organism. 

The  big  roots  firmly  anchor  the  tree  to  the  earth 
and  give  off  tiny  rootlets  that  absorb  water  and 
various  food  salts  in  solution  which  are  carried  up- 
ward through  special  tissues  to  the  leaves.  The 
leaves — the  lungs  and  chemical  laboratories  of  the 
tree — breathe  in  from  the  air  during  daylight  a  gas 
deleterious  to  man  (carbon  dioxide),  break  it  up,  ex- 
hale a  part  as  pure  oxygen  essential  for  the  life  of  the 
animal  kingdom,  and  combine  the  remaining  carbon 
and  oxygen  with  the  water  and  food  salts  supplied  by 
the  rootlets  into  simple  forms  of  sugar,  in  which  man- 
ner they  are  immediately  available  as  food  to  nourish 
the  tree's  growth  in  all  its  complicated  parts.  So 
much  of  these  sugars  not  at  the  moment  wanted  is 
converted  into  forms  of  starch  and  stored  away  for 

7 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

the  tree's  future  needs.  No  chemical  factory  in  the 
world  built  by  man  and  fitted  with  all  the  wonderful 
appliances  of  modern  science  is  half  so  marvellous  as 
the  leaf  of  any  one  kind  of  tree;  no  system  of  collec- 
tion and  transportation  devised  by  human  ingenuity 
and  skill  so  perfect  as  that  which  serves  each  and 
every  tree. 

All  who  keep  gold  fish  in  a  bowl  or  in  an  aquarium 
know  that  green  weeds  of  some  sort  must  be  kept  in 
the  water  or  the  fish  will  die.  Why?  Because  the 
fish  inhale  all  the  free  oxygen  in  the  water  and  poison 
themselves  with  carbon  dioxide,  which  they  exhale 
unless  plants  are  present  to  take  up  this  gas  and  in 
exchange  give  back  free  oxygen  and  thus  maintain 
the  balance  in  nature.  So  on  the  grander  scale. 
But  for  the  presence  of  vegetation  this  earth  would  be 
unhabitable  for  the  animal  kingdom  in  all  its  forms, 
man  included. 

The  two  kingdoms — vegetable  and  animal — are 
interdependent,  but  the  vegetable  kingdom  is  the 
more  ancient  of  the  two.  Men  of  great  minds,  both 
of  the  past  and  of  the  present,  who  have  studied 
deeply  the  problems  concerning  the  origin  of  the 
world  of  life  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  present 
state  of  development  of  the  animal  kingdom — the 
living  types  of  to-day  including  man  the  complex — 
has  been  made  possible  by  the  steady  change  in  the 
8 


THEIR    ANCIENT     LINEAGE 

development  of  the  vegetable  kingdom.  The  fossil 
remains  of  plants  and  animals  imbedded  in  the  rocks 
of  the  different  geological  epochs  of  the  world's  his- 
tory tell  the  story  of  the  progressive  changes  that 
have  taken  place  during  the  earth's  history,  from  its 
youth  and  adolescence  to  its  present  age.  Indeed 
this  progressive  development  of  organic  life  through 
successive  geological  periods  is  the  theory  on  which 
the  modern  teaching  of  the  science  of  natural  history 
is  based,  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  goes  far 
toward  rendering  intelligible  natural  phenomena  as 
they  exist  to-day. 

Trees  by  no  means  represent  the  oldest  type  of  life- 
forms  in  the  history  of  the  vegetable  kingdom;  on 
the  contrary,  they  are  fairly  modern.  Geologists 
tell  us  that  in  the  earliest  phases  of  the  world's  his- 
tory of  which  organic  remains  exist,  the  vegetable 
kingdom  was  represented  by  simple,  aquatic,  or  semi- 
aquatic  plants,  and  the  animal  kingdom  by  sponges, 
worms,  centipedes,  and  spiders.  In  succeeding  ages 
land  plants  were  developed.  During  the  period 
represented  by  our  coal  measures  (the  Carboniferous 
period)  and  the  lengthy  epoch  preceding  it,  the  whole 
earth  became  more  or  less  forest-clad  with  a  low 
type  of  vegetation  mostly  allied  to  our  Ferns,  Horse- 
tails, Lycopods,  and  ancestral  forms  of  the  Cycad 
and  Ginkgo  families. 

9 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

This  earliest  luxuriant  land  vegetation — that 
which  formed  the  great  coal-fields  of  the  earth — was 
probably  adapted  to  the  physical  environment  alone 
and  was  almost  uninfluenced  by  the  scanty  animal  life 
of  the  period.  Reptiles  and  mammals  were  then 
differentiated,  but  the  former,  being  better  fitted  to 
live  upon  the  vegetation  and  to  survive  in  the  heavily 
carbonated  atmosphere,  increased  more  rapidly. 
This  increase  continued  through  the  next  two  geolog- 
ical epochs  and  culminated  in  the  next,  the  Jurassic 
period,  which  has  been  fitly  termed  the  "Age  of  Rep- 
tiles." Rocks  of  this  age  are  prevalent  in  the  states 
of  Wyoming,  the  Dakotas,  Kansas,  and  Texas,  and 
from  them  have  been  excavated,  and  sent  to  museums 
for  preservation,  remains  more  or  less  complete  of 
the  largest,  the  ugliest,  and  the  most  extraordinary 
forms  of  animal  life  the  world  has  known. 

The  development  of  vegetation  reacting  on  the 
climate  and  on  the  animal  kingdom,  and  each  on  the 
other,  induced  constant  change.  In  due  course  rep- 
tiles gave  place  to  mammals,  birds  were  differenti- 
ated and  likewise  insects  in  variety;  Cycads,  Arau- 
carias,  Ginkgos,  Yews,  Cedars,  and  other  conifers 
came  into  being  and,  later,  broadleaf  and  coniferous 
trees  similar  to  those  of  to-day.  It  is  not  my  purpose 
to  trace  this  progressive  change  in  further  detail  but 
the  fact  I  do  wish  to  emphasize  is  that  isolated  types 
10 


THEIR    ANCIENT    LINEAGE 

of  the  archaic  forms  of  trees  have  persisted  down 
through  remote  ages  to  the  present  day.  Of  such 
may  be  instanced  the  Araucarias,  now  confined  to 
South  America  and  Australasia.  A  familiar  example 
of  these  trees  is  the  Norfolk  Island  Pine  {Arancaria 
excelsa),  so  much  in  request  for  indoor  decorative 
purposes  in  the  colder  parts  of  this  country,  and 
quite  hardy  in  California.  Other  examples  are  the 
Cycads,  which  are  found  scattered  through  the 
Southern  Hemisphere  and  northward  to  the  Tropic 
of  Cancer,  the  Cedars  of  Lebanon,  of  Cyprus,  of 
the  Atlas  Mountains  and  of  the  western  Himalayas; 
also  the  Ginkgo  of  China,  Korea,  and  Japan. 


CHAPTER    II 


THEIR    PRESENT-DAY 
DISTRIBUTION 


CYPRESS    OF    MONTEZUMA 

AT   TULE,    MEXICO,    1 6()    FT.    HIGH,     I  46   GIRTH.        ESTIMATED   TO  B  E 
MUCH  OLDER  THAN   2,000  YEARS 

{Taxodium   mucronatum) 


CHAPTER    I  I 

THEIR    PRESENT-DAY 
DISTRI  BUTION 

MANY  persons  take  it  for  granted  that  the 
types  of  trees  with  which  they  are  familiar 
are  found  all  the  world  over;  others  more 
discerning  know  that  every  tree  has  birt  a  limited  dis- 
tribution covering  at  most  a  limited  range  of  degrees 
of  latitude  and  longitude.  They  know  that  the  Oaks, 
Elms,  Maples,  Pines,  and  Firs  are  different  on  the 
east  and  west  seaboards  of  this  country;  also  that 
both  differ  from  those  of  Europe  on  the  one  hand  and 
of  eastern  Asia  on  the  other.  If  one  looks  into  the 
subject  all  sorts  of  curious  facts  are  unearthed.  For 
instance,  the  Tulip-tree  and  the  Kentucky  Coffee- 
tree  are  each  represented  by  two  species  only,  one  of 
each  in  the  eastern  United  States  and  another  of 
each  in  central  China.  Of  Douglas  Firs,  two  species 
grow  on  the  mountains  of  the  Pacific  Slope  and  two 
species  in  eastern  Asia.  The  Honey-locusts  grow 
in  eastern  North  America,  in  eastern  Asia,  and  in  the 
Caucasus  region.  One  species  of  Incense  Cedar  is 
15 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

native  of  the  mountains  of  California,  another  of  the 
mountains  of  Formosa  and  southern  China,  while 
several  species  are  indigenous  to  South  America  and 
New  Zealand.  Some  groups  of  trees  are  represented 
by  many  species,  others  by  one  or  two  species.  And 
so  as  study  follows  interest  it  is  clearly  seen  that 
some  groups  are  in  the  heyday  of  their  youth,  others 
in  their  prime,  others  on  the  wane — not  as  individuals 
but  as  groups.  Reasoning  on  these  facts  the  con- 
clusion is  naturally  reached  that  in  the  progressive 
development  of  types  of  trees  this  is  the  natural  se- 
quence. It  has  been  the  same  through  the  world's 
history.  Types  have  arisen  and  disappeared,  some 
completely,  while  others,  altered  and  modified  to 
meet  the  climatic  and  other  changes,  have  persisted 
through  very  long  periods  of  time,  and  are,  as  it 
were,  living  fossils. 

With  three  of  these  ancient  types  of  trees  I  shall 
deal  at  length  in  succeeding  chapters,  but,  as  an  ex- 
planatory introduction,  it  is  necessary  to  enter  a 
little  into  the  subject  of  plant  distribution  in  general. 
A  popular  book  is  hardly  the  place  for  a  full  discus- 
sion of  these  matters,  yet  they  are  of  such  interest 
and  importance  that  a  few  salient  points  cannot  fail 
to  be  of  use  in  understanding  present  phenomena  of 
tree  distribution.  Savants  have  written  much  to 
explain  particular  cases,  and  as  knowledge  increases 
16 


PRESENT-DAY     DISTRIBUTION 

the  whole  question  becomes  more  simple.  The 
geological  records,  even  of  the  Northern  Hemisphere, 
are  notoriously  imperfect  but  as  investigations  pro- 
ceed many  links  are  forged  and  abysmal  chasms 
bridged.  The  human  mind,  collectively  or  individ- 
ually, will  never  achieve  the  infinite  but  it  may  learn 
enough  to  explain  much  intelligently. 

If  we  are  in  the  least  degree  to  understand 
the  present-day  distribution  of  plants,  and  especially 
the  isolation  of  groups  of  trees  like  for  instance  the 
Honey-locust  (Gleditsia),  and  Sweet-gum  (Liquid- 
ambar),  which  occur  in  Asia  Minor,  China,  Japan,  and 
eastern  North  America  and  each  separated  by  thou- 
sands of  miles  of  land  and  sea,  it  is  necessary  that  we 
try  and  picture  some  of  the  changes  time  has  wrought 
in  the  climate  of  the  Northern  Hemisphere.  Geolo- 
gists are  pretty  well  agreed  that  the  two  great  oceans, 
Atlantic  and  Pacific,  have  not  changed  much  in  the 
aeons  of  time  since  this  earth  began  to  cool.  Seas, 
plains,  mountain  ranges,  and  large  areas  of  land 
have,  however,  changed  vastly  though  probably  the 
depressions  and  elevations  have  maintained  a  fairly 
stable  equilibrium — a  sort  of  compensation  balance. 

The  Tertiary  period,  that  is  the  geological  era  imme- 
diately preceding  the  present,  was  one  of  great  dis- 
turbances and  the  folding  of  the  earth's  crust,  due  to 
internal  cooling  and  consequent  contraction,  made 
17 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

vast  changes  in  the  earth's  surface.  Its  close  was 
marked  by  a  period  of  great  cold  which  wrought 
havoc  among  vegetation,  and  to-day  much  land  that 
in  Tertiary  times  was  forested  is  hidden  under  enor- 
mous ice-fields.  In  Tertiary  times  most  of  the 
present  Arctic  Zone  was  probably  free  of  ice,  at  any 
rate  Spitzbergen,  Greenland,  Iceland,  the  extreme 
north  of  the  mainland  of  America  and  Asia  enjoyed  a 
climate  at  least  as  mild  as  New  England  does  to-day. 
Vast  forests  circled  the  whole  of  to-day's  Arctic 
regions,  for  the  land  connection  was  complete.  In 
those  times  the  types  of  tree  vegetation  were  similar 
throughout  the  whole  Northern  Hemisphere.  Doubt- 
less, then  as  now,  species  had  a  limited  distribution, 
but  the  genera  then,  much  more  so  than  to-day,  were 
widespread.  Tulip-trees,  Magnolias,  Sweet-gums, 
Ginkgos,  Sassafras,  Sequoias,  and,  indeed,  countless 
others  grew  in  Europe,  in  America,  and  in  Asia. 

As  the  period  of  great  cold  came  on  so  the  vegeta- 
tion was  forced  to  migrate  down  the  mountains  and 
southward  to  escape  destruction.  As  the  ice  crept 
southward  so  it  destroyed  the  vegetation.  The 
trees  of  Greenland,  Spitzbergen,  Iceland,  of  the  re- 
gions separating  North  America  and  eastern  Asia, 
were  all  destroyed.  In  this  country  they  were  forced 
south  of  Philadelphia  (Lat.  400  N.)  and  where  there 
was  no  continuous  land  connection  they  were  oblit- 
18 


PRESENT-DAY     DISTRIBUTION 

era  ted.  In  Europe  they  were  swept  almost  to  the 
very  fringe  of  the  Mediterranean  and  virtually  all 
destroyed.  In  Europe  to-day,  only  about  three 
dozen  genera  of  trees  are  found  and  even  the  species 
are  very  limited  in  number. 

We  are  not  concerned  with  the  theories  as  to  what 
particular  astronomical  change  induced  the  Ice  Age, 
but  it  is  important  to  realize  that  the  ice  did  not 
descend  to  equal  latitudes  all  round  the  Northern 
Hemisphere.  Japan  and  China  escaped  glaciation 
and,  though  the  temperature  must  have  been  lowered, 
the  vegetation  suffered  little  harm.  Of  course  there 
was  a  migration  toward  the  south  and  a  reverse 
one  at  the  close  of  the  glacial  epoch.  The  net  result 
is  that  the  existing  flora  of  the  Chinese  Empire  and 
of  central  Japan  southward,  is  really  a  miniature  of  the 
whole  flora  of  the  Northern  Hemisphere  in  pre-glacial 
times.  In  China  and  in  the  parts  of  Japan  indicated 
grow  to-day  many  peculiar  types,  and  all  the  princi- 
pal genera  of  trees  known  from  the  other  parts  of  the 
Northern  Hemisphere  except  Robinia,  Laburnum, 
Platanus,  true  Cedars  (Cedrus),  Sequoia  and  Taxo- 
dium;  and  of  the  latter  two  there  are  such  very  closely 
allied  trees  as  Taiwania  and  Glyptostrobus.  Fossils 
of  many  types  which  grow  in  the  Orient  to-day  occur 
in  Europe,  and  recent  dredgings  off  the  Dutch- 
English  coast  have  added  much  to  prove  that  the 
'9 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

ancient  flora  of  Europe  was  similar  to  that  now  flour- 
ishing in  the  Far  East.  I  do  not  mean  that  they  were 
specifically  identical  but  that  the  generic  types  were 
similar.  If  we  picture  to  ourselves  the  onward,  in- 
evitable creeping  southward  of  the  ice  we  can  easily 
understand  how  trees  and  other  forms  of  vegetation 
were  destroyed  in  its  path,  and  only  those  which  were 
able  to  reach  places  of  sufficient  warmth  to  maintain 
life  survived.  The  greater  the  land  extension  toward 
the  south  the  greater  chances  had  the  vegetation,  and 
where  the  country  was  broken  by  mountain  ranges 
advantageous  regions  were  more  easily  found. 

The  ice  on  its  path  ground  off  the  tops  of  moun- 
tains and  scoured  out  valleys  to  a  great  depth,  and 
when  it  retreated  the  face  of  much  of  the  Northern 
Hemisphere  was  changed.  It  disappeared  from  sea- 
level  valleys  earlier  than  from  mountain  ranges  and 
so  isolated  groups  of  vegetation.  If  we  picture  this, 
and  remember  that  before  the  period  of  great  cold  set 
in  the  vegetation  of  the  North  was  everywhere  very 
similar,  we  can  understand  how  to-day  are  found  here 
and  there  groups  of  trees  isolated  by  thousands  of 
miles  from  their  kindred.  This  explains  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  Cedars  of  Lebanon,  of  the  Taurus,  of 
Cyprus,  of  the  Atlas  Mountains  and  of  the  western  Him- 
alayas; also  the  isolation  of  the  Nettle-trees,  Honey- 
locusts,  Sweet-gums,  Walnuts,  and  others  in  the 
20 


PRESENT-DAY     DISTRIBUTION 

Caucasus  region,  in  eastern  North  America  and  in  the 
Orient.  What  were  temperate  regions  in  the  north 
in  Tertiary  times  are  even  now  the  frozen  North, 
and  the  land  of  this  region  capable  of  growing  forests 
is  infinitely  less  than  it  was  then.  Deserts,  seas, 
lakes,  high  plateaux,  and  mountain  ranges  influence 
climates,  which  strongly  affect  plant  distribution. 
Birds,  animals,  air-  and  water-currents  are  all  agencies 
in  plant  dispersal,  and  so  to  understand  why  this  tree 
is  here  and  not  yonder  involves  the  study  of  a  num- 
ber of  cognate  branches  of  natural  history.  Com- 
plex is  the  problem,  but  however  little  it  is  studied 
the  marvels  of  the  world  we  live  in  become  more  and 
more  apparent. 

Brief  and  fragmentary  as  this  sketch  is  it  would 
be  more  so  did  we  omit  mention  of  the  influence  of 
man.  At  what  period  in  the  world's  history  man 
first  appeared  is  much  disputed,  but  certain  it  is 
that,  as  soon  as  he  became  a  sentient  being,  hunger 
caused  him  to  investigate  the  vegetation  and  taught 
him  to  appreciate  what  was  wholesome  as  food;  pro- 
viding himself  with  clothes,  shelter,  and  weapons  for 
protection  followed.  As  he  migrated  so  he  carried 
with  him  plants  that  were  of  service  to  his  needs, 
and,  later,  such  as  were  a  delight  to  his  higher 
being.  We  know  so  little  of  the  early  peregrinations 
of  the  human  race,  or  of  where  it  had  its  cradle,  that 

21 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

wecan  say  nothing  of  that  remote  and  most  interesting 
period.  In  the  mythology,  folk-lore,  and  sacred  writ- 
ings of  all  races  of  which  we  have  knowledge  frequent 
mention  of  trees  is  made.  I nvading  armies  devastated 
countries  and  carried  off  useful  plants,  including  fruit 
trees  and  the  like,  as  spoils  of  war.  Alexander  the 
Great  is  but  a  name  in  history  in  spite  of  his  great 
conquests,  and  of  his  work  the  only  beneficial  result 
to  mankind  remaining  is  the  Orange-tree  which  his 
soldiers  are  said  to  have  carried  back  from  India  to 
the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean. 

Of  the  mighty  migrations  across  Asia  we  know  very 
little  though  it  is  certain  that  for  centuries  the  great 
highways  of  commerce  of  the  Old  World  were  across 
central  Asia.  That  the  peach,  orange,  and  certain 
of  its  relatives,  were  carried  from  China  to  Persia 
and  that  neighbourhood  is  certain,  and  that  the  wal- 
nut and  grapevine  were  brought  back  is  equally  true. 
From  the  rich  and  famed  China  of  old,  plants  useful 
and  ornamental  were  also  carried  to  Korea  and  Japan ; 
even  as  the  apple,  the  pear,  the  cherry,  wheat, 
and  barley  were  carried  here  from  Europe  and  later 
the  peach,  apricot,  almond,  date,  vine,  and  the  like. 
From  this  country  the  potato,  tobacco,  and  maize 
were  taken  to  Europe  and  to  China.  In  later  times 
ornamental  trees,  shrubs,  and  herbs  have  been  car- 
ried far  from  their  original  homes. 


<       s 

0    a 


§    «  a 

<      -    5 


PRESENT-DAY     DISTRIBUTION 

In  all  this  beneficent  work  man  has  been  the  or- 
ganizing power,  and  could  a  thousand  and  one  of 
the  common  plants  around  us  tell  their  story  it 
would  fascinate  the  least  attentive.  This  pen  is 
indifferently  equipped,  but  the  purpose  of  this  work 
is  to  show  the  intimate  connection,  the  bond  of  com- 
panionship, as  it  were,  between  ourselves — mankind 
in  general — and  certain  groups  of  plants.  Animal 
life,  in  all  its  higher  forms  at  any  rate,  is  depend- 
ent for  its  very  existence  on  the  vegetable  kingdom. 
Man  draws  much  of  his  bodily  sustenance  from  the 
products  of  plant  life,  and  trees  will  yield,  to  all  who 
heed  their  beauty  and  study  them,  mental  enjoyment 
and  healthful  recreation. 


23 


n      M     Mill     IIRDADV 


CHAPTER  I  I  I 
THEIR  RUGGED  TRUNKS 


CHAPTER  I  I  I 
THEIR  RUGGED  TRUNKS 

MUCH  of  the  beauty  of  any  region  is  due  to 
the  trees  which  clothe  the  mountain  slopes 
and  river  valleys  or  line  roadsides  and  hedge- 
rows. This  statement  is  commonplace,  yet  those 
who  have  crossed  the  treeless  areas  in  this  and  other 
lands  can  best  appreciate  its  full  significance.  In  the 
summer  time,  when  clothed  with  leafage,  all  deciduous 
trees  may  look  very  much  alike  to  a  casual  observer. 
In  the  fall,  when  the  change  of  colour  in  the  leaves 
takes  place,  variety  becomes  apparent,  but  it  is  in 
the  winter  when  the  trees  are  naked  that  they  best 
display  their  peculiar  characteristics.  A  very  brief 
study  will  enable  any  one  in  winter  to  pick  out  the 
Elm,  Oak,  Sugar  Maple,  Beech,  Hickory,  and  Silver 
Birch.  The  general  aspect,  position  of  main  branches, 
thickness  of  shoots,  character  of  the  bark,  and  often 
of  the  buds,  each  or  several,  afford  easy  clues  to  iden- 
tity. Those  who  are  born  and  live  in  the  country 
readily  recognize  by  intuition  their  neighbouring 
trees.     Townsfolk  have  not  the  same  opportunities 


THE  ROMANCE  OF  OUR  TREES 
and  must  learn  by  study  what  countryfolk  acquire 
through  association. 

Of  the  many  attractive  features  of  trees  not  the 
least  is  their  bark,  and  in  winter  this  feature  is  not 
only  very  pronounced  but  is  often  characteristic. 
The  various  organs  of  a  tree,  like  those  of  the  human 
body,  have  each  their  function,  and  that  of  the  bark 
is  protection.  It  protects  the  vital  tissues,  which  lie 
near  the  periphery,  from  the  heat  of  the  sun's  direct 
rays  and  from  the  intense  cold  of  winter.  We  are 
not  concerned  with  a  scientific  treatise  on  the  origin 
of  bark  but  a  few  simple  facts  are  instructive  since 
they  enable  us  to  understand  how  the  various  forms 
of  the  bark  arise.  When  transplanting  trees  it  is 
well  known  that  care  must  be  taken  not  to  injure  the 
bark,  especially  when  it  is  smooth,  and  that  in  cer- 
tain trees,  the  Holly  for  example,  even  moderate 
injury  is  fatal.  In  the  Holly  (Ilex),  in  Acer  striatum, 
and  other  striped-barked  Maples,  and  in  a  few  other 
trees,  the  original  cells  of  the  outer  surface  keep  pace 
by  growth  with  the  formation  of  new  tissue  in  the 
interior.  In  this  case  no  proper  bark  is  formed,  and 
any  considerable  injury  to  the  skin,  as  it  may  be 
termed,  of  the  trunk  is  fatal,  since  it  cannot  heal  over. 
Such  trees  grow  naturally  in  the  shade  of  others  and 
are  thereby  much  protected.  Most  commonly,  how- 
ever, it  is  the  layer  of  cells  immediately  within  the 
28 


THEIR    RUGGED    TRUNKS 

outer  surface  which  becomes  active  and  forms  bark 
and  continues  to  do  so  during  the  life  of  the  individ- 
ual. In  some  trees,  like  the  Birch,  as  new  layers  are 
formed  the  older  ones  are  partially  or  completely 
thrown  off.  In  others,  like  the  Beech,  the  growth  is 
such  that  the  bark  firmly  coheres  and  remains  smooth 
on  the  outside.  In  the  Oak,  Elm,  and  Chestnut  suc- 
cessive formations  are  amassed  and  the  bark,  though 
firmly  coherent,  becomes  fissured  and  with  age  deeply 
and  ruggedly  so.  In  some  trees  the  bark-forming 
cells,  after  a  time,  cease  to  function  and  fresh  layers 
arise  successively  deeper  and  deeper  within  the  tis- 
sues. When  this  happens,  as  in  Sequoia,  the  bark  is 
made  up  of  different  tissues  and  is  known  as  fibrous. 
In  most  cases  the  bark  is  either  thin  and  papery, 
firm  and  smooth,  or  fissured,  but  in  some — Cork 
Oak,  Cork  Elm,  and  other  trees — it  is  thick  and 
corky. 

Without  entering  further  into  the  origin  of  bark, 
our  purpose  is  served  if  it  be  remembered  that  the 
character  of  the  bark  depends  largely  upon  its  seat  of 
origin  and  the  nature  of  the  tissues  of  which  it  is 
composed;  that  its  appearance  depends  mainly  upon 
degrees  of  coherence  and  upon  the  stress  and  strain  it 
is  submitted  to  as  growth  continues  year  after  year. 
It  is  the  tree  itself  that  fashions  the  bark  in  all  its 
varied  forms  and  not  external  elements,  though  wind, 
20 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

heat,  and  cold  assist  in  the  removal  of  loosely  coherent 
barks. 

In  different  groups  of  trees  the  bark  varies  enor- 
mously in  thickness.  We  have  stated  that  in  the 
Holly  no  true  bark  is  formed;  in  the  Beech  it  is  firm 
and  smooth,  and  on  trees  several  hundreds  of  years  old 
it  is  scarcely  more  than  one  half  an  inch  thick;  in 
the  Chestnut  it  is  thicker,  but  in  none  of  our  common 
trees  is  the  bark  of  any  great  thickness.  In  the  Big 
Trees  of  California  it  attains  its  maximum  develop- 
ment, being  in  adult  trees  often  as  much  as  thirty 
inches  thick! 

But  mere  thickness  has  no  bearing  on  the  orna- 
mental character  of  bark.  The  White  or  Paper  Birch, 
often  felicitously  called  "My  Lady  of  the  Woods," 
is  known  to  all  by  its  smooth  white  bark  which 
peels  off  in  thin  layers.  No  other  tree  has  such  pure 
white  bark  though  many  Poplars  have  pale,  yellowish- 
gray  bark,  smooth  except  on  the  lower  and  older 
parts.  In  the  River  Birch  the  papery  gray-brown 
bark  clings  in  loose  masses  of  irregular  shape.  The 
Beech  has  smooth,  grayish-white  bark  and  in  the 
American  species  in  particular  the  effect  from  a  dis- 
tance is  like  white  mist.  The  Hornbeam  also  has  a 
pale  gray  bark  like  the  Beech,  but  rather  darker, 
and  on  old  trees  it  becomes  shallowly  fissured.  The 
Red,  Silver,  and  Sugar  Maples  have  smooth,  pale 
30 


THEIR     RUGGED    TRUNKS 

gray  bark  which  becomes  darker  and  on  old  trees 
fissured. 

The  deciduous  Oaks  according  to  their  bark  fall 
into  two  groups.  Many  of  the  White  Oaks  (Quer- 
cus  alba,  Q.  macrocarpa,  Q.  bicolor,  Q.  stellata)  have 
light  gray  bark  which  becomes  fissured  with  age. 
Others  like  the  European  Oak  (Quercus  robur),  and 
the  Red,  Black,  and  Chestnut  Oaks  of  America  have 
dark  gray  bark,  varying  from  nearly  smooth  to 
deeply  fissured  according  to  the  species.  The  Chest- 
nut also  has  dark  gray,  deeply  fissured  bark.  In 
the  Sweet  Birch  the  bark  is  smooth  and  almost 
black,  and  in  the  Cherries  lustrous,  chestnut-brown, 
and  peeling.  In  the  Plane  and  certain  Hickories  the 
bark  flakes  off  in  plates  or  strips  leaving  smooth 
white  or  pale  brown  scars;  in  Stuartia  and  the 
Crepe  Myrtle  (Lagerstroemia)  this  is  carried  to  the 
extreme  and  the  trunks  become  smooth  and  polished. 
The  Robinia  has  a  grayish,  deeply  fissured,  fibrous 
bark,  and  that  of  the  Elm,  Linden,  and  many  other 
common  trees,  is  dark  and  irregularly  fissured.  In 
the  American  Honey-locust  (Gleditsia  triacanthos) 
the  bark  is  almost  black,  cracked  and  fissured, 
whereas  that  of  its  Chinese  relative  {G.  macracantha) 
is  quite  smooth  and  pale  gray.  A  similar  difference 
obtains  between  the  Kentucky  CofTee-tree  and  its 
Chinese  congener.  In  the  former  the  bark  is  dark, 
31 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

fissured,  and  rugged,  in  the  latter  perfectly  smooth 
and  gray-green.  Many  are  familiar  with  the  dark, 
fissured  bark  of  the  valuable  Black  Walnut  but  fewer, 
perhaps,  with  that  of  the  American  Persimmon 
(Diospyros  vir giniand) .  In  this  tree  the  bark  is  al- 
most black  and  is  deeply  fissured,  both  longitudinally 
and  transversely,  in  such  manner  that  the  trunk  is 
studded  with  close-set  rectangular  knobs  which  form 
a  perfect  mosaic.  Among  trees  I  know  of  only  one 
other,  the  Korean  Cornel  (Cornus  coreana),  that 
has  this  peculiar  and  striking  kind  of  bark.  In 
conclusion  it  may  be  said  that  nearly  every  kind  of 
tree  has  its  own  peculiar  form  of  bark,  differing 
slightly  or  conspicuously  from  that  of  its  neigh- 
bours. Quite  often  the  bark  is  remarkable  for  its 
colour  or  form,  and  in  winter  it  is  especially  attrac- 
tive and  beautiful. 


32 


CHAPTER  IV 
THEIR  AUTUMN  GLORY 


CHAPTER  IV 
THEIR  AUTUMN  GLORY 

IN  SEPTEMBER,  when  the  beauty  of  the  Aster 
displaces  that  of  the  Goldenrod,  when  blue  and 
purple  transcend  the  yellow  in  field  and  border, 
the  deep  green  mantle  of  foliage  draping  hill  and  dale, 
mountain  and  ravine,  streamside  and  roadside  com- 
mences to  show  portentous  signs  of  change.  The 
Pines,  Hemlocks,  and  their  kin  look  even  darker  as 
the  contrast  with  their  deciduous-leaved  neigh- 
bours becomes  stronger.  In  the  swamps,  about  the 
last  week  of  August  and  at  the  first  whiff  of  autumn 
in  the  air,  the  Red  Maple  begins  to  assume  a  purplish 
tint  and  its  example  is  soon  followed  by  other  kinds  of 
trees.  To  all  of  us  the  season  of  the  year  becomes 
apparent,  warning  signs  of  stern  winter's  approach 
increase  rapidly,  and  soon  the  whole  country  puts  on 
its  gayest  mantle  of  colour.  The  peoples  of  the 
tropics,  where  monsoon  rains  are  followed  by  burning 
heat  and  where  the  young  unfolding  leaves  of  many 
forest  trees  are  brightly  coloured,  never  enjoy  the 
wonderful  feast  of  colour  displayed  in  the  forests 
35 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

and  countrysides  of  this  and  other  northern  conti- 
nental areas.  They  have  other  things  for  which  we 
may  envy  them  but  the  autumn  tints  of  leaves  are 
peculiarly  our  own.  The  brightly  coloured  Codiaeums 
of  the  tropics  and  of  our  hothouses,  beautiful  as  they 
are,  do  not  equal  the  Red  Maple,  Sugar  Maple,  Sas- 
safras, and  Tulip-tree  in  the  fall.  No  scene  in  nature 
is  more  delightful  than  the  woods  of  eastern  North 
America  in  the  fulness  of  their  autumn  splendour. 

It  is  a  weakness  of  humans  to  crave  most  those 
things  beyond  their  immediate  reach,  but  the  wise 
among  us  are  content  to  enjoy  those  which  fall  within 
the  sphere  of  every-day  life.  To  revel  in  the  splendid 
riot  of  autumn  colour  no  long  journey  has  to  be  under- 
taken. It  is  at  our  very  door.  From  the  St.  Law- 
rence Valley  and  the  Canadian  lakes  southward  to 
the  Alleghany  Mountains  there  is  displayed  each 
autumn  a  scene  of  entrancing  beauty  not  surpassed 
the  world  over.  Central  Europe,  Japan,  China,  and 
other  parts  of  eastern  Asia  have  their  own  season  of 
autumn  colour  and  each  area  has  an  individuality  of 
its  own  but,  if  they  rival,  they  cannot  surpass  the 
forest  scenes  of  eastern  North  America. 

But  wherefore  and   why   all   this   gay   autumnal 

apparel?     Is    it    the    handiwork    of    the    charming 

fairies  and  wood-nymphs   of   our  childhood  beliefs 

and  nursery  days?     Surely  some  guiding  hand,  some 

36 


THEIR    AUTUMN     GLORY 

beneficent  agency,  some  lover  of  mankind  must 
have  prepared  the  scene  as  the  final  tableau  of  the 
seasons!  Of  a  truth  the  talent  of  the  Master  Artist 
is  unveiled,  and  the  picture  surpasses  the  dreams  of 
those  who  live  in  less-favoured  areas  of  the  world. 

Those  skilled  in  the  mysteries  of  organic  chemistry 
and  plant  physiology  tell  us  that  autumn  tints  are 
due  to  chemical  changes  associated  with  the  storing 
away  of  food  material  and  the  discharge  of  certain 
waste  products.  This  explanation,  though  matter 
of  fact  and  disturbing  to  our  youthful  belief  in  fairies 
and  wood-nymphs,  opens  up  a  field  of  inquiry  which 
must  tend  to  enlarge  our  viewpoint  and  increase  our 
appreciation  of  Nature's  wonderful  methods.  We 
find  that  all  is  governed  by  laws  which  act  and  react 
in  such  manner  as  to  insure  the  end  and  object  de- 
sired. 

Briefly  the  autumn  metamorphosis  is  effected  as 
follows: 

At  the  approach  of  winter  leaves  which  cannot 
withstand  frost  cease  to  function  as  food  factories  and 
the  residue  food  substances  are  conveyed  from  the 
leaf-blade  into  the  woody  branches  or  subterranean 
rootstock  and  there  stored,  chiefly  in  the  form  of 
starch,  until  the  season  of  growth  recommences  the 
following  spring.  The  leaves  from  which  everything 
useful  has  been  transported  form  nothing  more  than  a 
37 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

mere  framework  of  cell-chambers  containing  merely 
waste  products  such  as  crystals  of  calcium-oxalate 
which  are  thrown  off  with  the  leaves  and  help  to  en- 
rich the  soil.  But  while  the  process  of  food  evacu- 
ation is  going  on  other  changes  take  place.  In  many 
plants  a  chemical  substance,  known  technically  as 
anthocyanin,  is  produced  in  the  leaves  and  often 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  become  plainly  visible  on  the 
exterior.  It  appears  red  in  the  presence  of  free  acids 
in  the  cell-sap,  blue  when  no  acids  are  present,  and 
violet  when  the  quantity  of  acids  is  small.  In  a 
great  many  leaves  the  bodies  which  contain  the 
green  colouring  matter  become  changed  to  yellow 
granules  while  the  evacuation  of  food  substances  is  in 
process.  Sometimes  these  granules  are  very  few 
and  anthocyanin  is  absent,  then  the  leaf  exhibits 
little  outward  change  except  losing  its  freshness  be- 
fore it  falls.  In  others  the  yellow  granules  are 
abundantly  developed,  and  if  anthocyanin  is  absent 
or  nearly  so  the  whole  leaf  assumes  a  clear  yellow 
hue.  If  there  is  an  abundance  of  yellow  granules 
together  with  free  acids  and  anthocyanin  the  leaf 
assumes  an  orange  colour.  Thus  the  leaf  at  the 
period  of  autumnal  change  by  the  presence  of  these 
substances  in  a  greater  or  lesser  degree  loses  its  green 
hue  and  becomes  brown  or  yellow,  crimson  or  or- 
ange, purple  or  red.  The  play  of  colour  is  greater 
38 


THEIR     AUTUMN     GLORY 

according  to  the  number  of  species  and  individuals 
associated  together  in  a  particular  spot.  But  the 
greatest  display  of  colour  is  seen  when  the  neigh- 
bourhood is  sprinkled  with  trees  having  evergreen 
foliage,  when  it  often  happens  that  a  relatively  small 
area  of  woodland  appears  decked  in  all  the  colours  of 
the  rainbow. 

The  most  casual  observer  knows  that  all  trees 
do  not  assume  tinted  foliage  in  autumn.  Some,  like 
the  Alder,  the  Locust  (Robinia),  the  Elder,  and  most 
Willows  exhibit  little  or  no  change  save,  perhaps,  a 
number  of  yellow  leaves  scattered  through  the  green 
before  the  fall.  But  this  group  is  relatively  small 
and  only  adds  additional  contrast  to  the  landscape. 
Again,  plants  whose  leaves  are  covered  with  silky  or 
woolly  hairs  or  with  a  felted  mat  of  hairs  never 
present  any  autumn  colouring,  and  in  those  in  which 
the  green  colour  disappears  the  change  is  to  pale 
gray  and  white. 

In  a  rather  large  group  of  trees  which  includes  the 
Walnut,  Butternut,  Catalpa,  Elm,  Hickory,  Chest- 
nut, Horsechestnut,  Linden,  Button-tree,  White 
Birch,  and  others,  the  tints  are  a  general  mixture  of 
rusty  green  and  yellow  and,  occasionally,  pure  yellow 
under  favourable  circumstances.  In  the  Poplar, 
Tulip-tree,  Honey-locust  (Gleditsia),  Mulberry, 
Maidenhair-tree  or  Ginkgo,  Beech,  and  most  of  the 
39 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR. TREES 

Birches,  the  leaves  change  to  pure  yellow  of  differ- 
ent shades.  In  none  of  the  above-mentioned  groups 
is  purple  or  red  of  any  shade  developed. 

In  favourable  years  the  American  or  White  Ash 
(Fraxinus  americana)  is  unique  in  its  tints  passing 
through  all  shades  from  a  dark  chocolate  to  violet, 
clear  brown,  and  salmon  but  it  has  no  reds. 

The  Peach,  Plum,  Pear,  Apple,  Quince,  Cherry, 
Mountain-ash,  Hawthorn,  and  the  Silver  Maple,  have 
a  predominance  of  green  with  a  slight  or  considerable 
admixture  of  purple,  red,  and  yellow,  and  individuals 
are  frequently  strikingly  brilliant.  In  another 
group  purple,  crimson,  and  scarlet,  with  only  a  slight 
admixture  of  yellow  if  any,  obtain.  Here  are  the 
Tupelo,  Scarlet  Oak,  White  Oak,  Sumach,  Viburnum, 
Sorrel-tree,  Cornel,  and  many  other  trees.  A  final 
group — to  which  belong  the  Red,  Sugar,  Striped,  and 
Mountain  Maples,  the  Smoke-tree  (Cotinus),  Poison 
Dogwood,  Sassafras  and  the  Shadbush  or  Snowy 
Mespilus — has  variegated  tints  comprising  all  shades 
of  purple,  crimson,  scarlet,  orange,  and  yellow  on  the 
same  or  different  individuals  of  the  same  species. 
Often  the  leaves  are  tinted  and  sometimes  figured  like 
the  wings  of  a  butterfly. 

Careful  observers  will  note  that  the  gradations  of 
autumn  tints  in  all  cases  are  in  order  of  those  of  sun- 
rise: from  darker  to  lighter  hues,  and  never  the  re- 
40 


THEIR    AUTUMN     GLORY 

verse.  The  brown  leaves  which  long  persist  on 
some  trees  (Beech,  Chestnut,  and  certain  Oaks), 
though  darker  than  the  yellow  or  orange  from  which 
they  often  turn,  are  no  exception,  since  these  leaves 
are  dead  and  the  brown  colour  is  only  assumed  after 
vitality  has  vanished. 

Some  species  are  perfectly  uniform  in  their  colours; 
others,  on  the  contrary,  display  a  very  wide  range  of 
colour.  For  example  the  Maidenhair-tree,  the  Tulip- 
tree,  and  Birch  are  invariably  yellow;  the  Tupelo, 
Sumach,  and  White  Oak  chiefly  red,  while  Maples  are 
of  as  many  colours  as  if  they  were  of  different  species. 
But  each  individual  tree  shows  nearly  the  same 
tints  every  year  even  as  an  Apple-tree  bears  fruit  of 
the  same  tints  from  year  to  year. 

The  Red  Maple  (Acer  rubrum),  so  abundant  in 
swamp  and  wood,  roadside,  and  on  dry  hilltop,  is 
the  crowning  glory  of  a  New  England  autumn.  By 
the  last  week  of  August  it  commences  to  assume  a 
purplish  hue;  sometimes  a  solitary  branch  is  tinted, 
frequently  the  colouring  process  begins  at  the  top 
of  the  tree  and  the  purple  crown  of  autumn  is  placed 
on  the  green  brow  of  summer.  Trees  growing  side 
by  side  are  seldom  alike,  and  in  a  group  may  be  seen 
almost  as  many  shades  of  colour  as  there  are  trees. 
Some  are  entirely  yellow,  others  scarlet,  some  crim- 
son, purple,  or  orange,  others  variegated  with  several 
41 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

of  these  colours.  Indeed  on  different  individuals  in 
the  Red  Maple  may  be  seen  all  the  hues  that  are  ever 
displayed  in  the  autumn  woods.  The  Sugar  Maple 
{Acer  saccharum),  though  more  brilliant,  has  a  nar- 
rower range  of  colour  and  is  more  uniform  in  its  tints, 
which  range  from  yellow  and  orange  to  scarlet. 

The  common  Tupelo  (Nyssa  sylvatica)  more  in- 
variably shows  a  mass  of  unmixed  crimson  than  any 
other  New  England  tree.  The  foliage  first  assumes 
shades  of  purple  which  changes  into  crimson  or  scar- 
let before  it  falls. 

The  Oaks,  the  noblest  group  of  trees  in  eastern 
North  America,  assume  their  autumn  tints  very  late 
and  are  not  at  their  zenith  until  after  those  of  the 
Maples  have  past.  In  the  Scarlet,  Red,  and  White 
Oaks  the  tints  are  ruddy,  varying  from  reddish  purple 
and  crimson  to  pale  red,  and  when  at  their  best,  after 
the  middle  of  October,  these  trees  are  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  the  forests  and  pastures.  The  Black  and 
Swamp  Oaks  develop  imperfect  shades  of  orange  to 
leather-coloured  tints. 

In  the  White  Oak,  the  Beech,  the  Chestnut,  and 
the  Red  Oak  when  young,  the  leaves  as  they  die  be- 
come russet-brown,  and,  remaining  on  the  trees 
through  the  winter,  give  a  sensation  of  warmth  to 
the  woods  and  landscape  in  the  coldest  days  of 
winter.  The  period  of  retention  varies  greatly  in 
42 


THEIR     AUTUMN     GLORY 

different  individuals,  often  the  leaves  are  retained  on 
the  lower  branches  when  the  upper  parts  of  the  tree 
are  bare. 

In  Great  Britain  the  native  trees,  with  few  excep- 
tions, such  as  the  wild  Cherries  and  Beech,  assume  no 
autumn  tints  comparable  with  those  of  their  American 
relatives.  Indeed,  in  England  the  most  varied  and 
brightly  coloured  tints  are  found  not  on  the  indige- 
nous trees  but  on  the  Brambles  (Rubus).  Long  ago 
many  English  trees  were  planted  in  eastern  North 
America  and  some,  like  the  Elm,  Linden,  and  Oak, 
have  grown  to  a  large  or  moderately  large  size.  In 
autumn  such  trees  stand  out  very  clearly  with  their 
mantle  of  green  foliage  when  the  native  trees  around 
are  of  all  tints  or  have  shed  their  leaves.  These  Eng- 
lish colonists  preserve  their  green  hues  until  late  into 
October  when  finally  the  leaves  become  mottled, 
yellowish  or  brownish,  and  fall. 

The  Asiatic  trees  in  cultivation  assume  their 
wonted  tints,  and  so  also  do  those  of  central  Europe. 
The  trees  of  Japan  and  China  colour  with  us  rather 
later  than  the  native  trees  and  lengthen  the  season 
of  colour  fully  two  weeks. 

In   Japan,   where   an    intense   love   of    nature   is 

innate  among  all  classes,  there  prevails  a  custom 

which  might  well  be  adopted  in  other  lands.     The 

beauty  spots  in  that  country  are  many  and  are  justly 

43 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

celebrated  in  poetry  and  song:  august  Fuji-san  with 
its  perfect  cone  and  snowy  mantle;  the  Pine-clad 
islets  of  Matsushima;  the  Inland  Sea  with  its  hun- 
dreds of  islands  clad  with  verdure  to  the  water's  edge; 
the  Nikko  region  with  its  mountains  and  lakes,  its 
waterfalls  and  woods,  and  hundreds  of  other  places 
more  or  less  famous.  In  October,  when  the  woods 
assume  their  autumn  splendour,  children  from  pri- 
mary and  secondary  schools,  high  schools  and  colleges 
with  their  teachers  and  professors  make  excursions 
of  three  or  four  days'  duration  to  noted  places  and 
revel  in  the  feast  of  colour.  The  railways  offer 
cheap  fares  and  from  all  the  large  towns  and  cities 
children,  youths,  and  maidens  journey  to  the  moun- 
tain woods.  In  the  autumn  in  the  Nikko  region  I 
have  seen  thousands  of  scholars,  boys  and  girls 
varying  from  eight  to  twenty  years  of  age  (and  a 
happy,  orderly  throng  they  were),  enjoying  to  the  full 
the  scenery,  breathing  in  the  freshest  of  mountain  air, 
and  building  up  healthy  minds  and  bodies.  Their 
joyousness  was  wholesomely  infectious  and  it  was 
good  to  mingle  with  them.  As  I  look  back  on  the 
many  pleasant  experiences  I  have  enjoyed  in  that 
pretty  land  none  gives  me  greater  pleasure  than  the 
memories  of  those  throngs  of  happy  scholars  in  the 
woods  and  woodland  paths  of  Nikko,  Chuzenji,  and 
Yumoto. 

44 


THEIR     AUTUMN     GLORY 

Autumn  tints  is  a  subject  that  belongs  more  to 
the  sphere  of  the  artist  than  to  that  of  the  scientist; 
the  poet  can  sing  their  song  more  easily  than  a 
writer  of  prose  can  describe  their  beauty;  yet,  equally 
with  all,  ordinary  folk  can  enjoy  their  splendour. 
Let  us  then  in  autumn  time  lay  aside  for  a  brief 
moment  the  cares  of  life;  let  us  break  away  from  en- 
grossing tasks  of  every  kind  and  linger  for  a  while 
among  the  trees  and  shrubs  of  the  roadside  and  wood- 
land, drink  in  cool  draughts  of  fresh  air,  and  revel 
in  the  galaxy  of  colour  that  beneficent  Nature  so 
lavishly  displays  on  every  side. 


4'~> 


CHAPTER    V 
THE    STORY    OF    THE    GINKGO 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  STORY  OF  THE  GINKGO 

THE  oldest  existing  type  of  tree,  a  veritable 
"living  fossil,"  is  the  Ginkgo  or  Maidenhair- 
tree.  It  is  the  sole  survivor  of  a  family, 
rich  in  species,  which  was  distributed  over  the  temper- 
ate regions  of  both  the  Northern  and  Southern  hemi- 
spheres during  the  periods  when  the  Terrible  Lizards 
(Deinosaurus  and  Iguanodon),  the  Winged  Lizards 
(Pterodactylus — possible  ancestors  of  our  birds), 
and  the  Paddle-bearing  Lizards  (Plesiosaurus) 
roamed  the  earth,  and  whose  fossil  remains,  so  plenti- 
ful in  the  rocks  of  Wyoming,  North  and  South 
Dakota,  Kansas,  Texas,  and  elsewhere,  alone  remain 
to  tell  of  their  existence.  The  fossil  evidence  is  in- 
sufficient to  prove  the  existence  of  members  of  the 
Ginkgo  family  in  the  age  of  the  coal  measures  (Car- 
boniferous period),  but  there  is  a  strong  suspicion  of 
their  presence  in  the  next  (Permian),  as  fossils  from 
Virginia  show.  From  the  Triassic  rocks  (the  oldest 
group  of  Secondary  period)  several  species  of  Ginkgo 
have  been  described  from  Australia,  and  it  seems 

40 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

fairly  certain  that  during  this  epoch  the  tree  flourished 
in  the  Southern  Hemisphere.  In  the  strata  of  the 
next  era — the  Jurassic  or  Reptile  Age — the  Ginkgo  is 
abundantly  present  in  America,  Asia,  and  Europe. 
From  rocks  of  this  age  in  Canada,  China,  Japan,  north- 
ern Germany,  and  England  northward  to  Greenland, 
Siberia,  and  Franz-Joseph-Land  many  fossil  species 
have  been  described.  In  some  of  them  the  leaves 
are  quite  indistinguishable  from  those  of  the  existing 
species.  From  the  rocks  of  the  Chalk  Age  (Cretace- 
ous) of  North  America,  Greenland,  and  Vancouver 
Island,  fossil  species  have  been  named  which  are  prob- 
ably identical  with  that  living  to-day.  From  the 
Tertiary  period,  fossils  of  several  species  have  been 
described  from  widely  separated  parts  of  the  Northern 
Hemisphere,  and  it  may  be  concluded  with  approxi- 
mate certainty  that  the  living  Ginkgo  biloba  flourished 
at  that  period;  also  that  it  was  a  common  tree  in  the 
present  temperate  and  circumpolar  regions  of  the 
v/hole  Northern  Hemisphere. 

The  close  of  the  Tertiary  period  was  marked  by  a 
glacial  epoch  which,  in  Europe  and  North  America 
in  particular,  destroyed  much  of  the  vegetation. 
In  eastern  North  America  the  ice-cap  extended  as 
far  south  as  Philadelphia  (Lat.  40°N.)  as  the  scarred 
rocks,  erratic  boulders,  and  detritus  amply  testify. 
This  ice-cap  did  not  reach  any  part  of  China,  Korea, 
50 


MAT1   RE     HABIT    OF     AGE     (BOSTON     PUBLIC    GARDENS') 


TWO     FORMS 
OF      THF. 
GINKGO 


GINKGO    AT     KOYHNGI     TEMPLE 


A  PAN 


THIS  HAS  A  GIRTH  OF  20  II.  AND  FITTINGLY  EXHIBITS  THE 
RELIGIOUS  ASSOCIATION  OF  THIS  TREE,  THROUGH  WHICH  ALONE 
ITHAS  BEEN   PRESERVED  TO  THIS  AGE 


THE     STORY     OF    THE    GINKGO 

or  Japan,  though,  of  course,  the  climate  there  was 
very  considerably  modified  by  its  influence.  The 
glaciation  of  North  America,  Greenland,  Europe, 
and  western  Siberia  probably  caused  the  extinction 
of  the  Ginkgo  in  those  lands,  whereas  in  the  Orient, 
thanks  to  the  milder  climate  that  obtained,  it 
survived.  But  be  the  explanation  what  it  may,  the 
record  of  the  rocks  demonstrates  both  the  antiquity 
and  wide  geographical  range  of  the  Ginkgo-tree  down 
to  the  Tertiary  glacial  epoch.  To-day,  the  Ginkgo, 
statements  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  no 
longer  exists  in  a  wild  state,  and  there  is  no  authentic 
record  of  its  having  ever  been  seen  growing  spontane- 
ously. Travellers  of  repute  of  many  nationalities 
have  searched  for  it  far  and  wide  in  Japan,  Korea, 
Manchuria,  and  China  but  none  has  succeeded  in 
solving  the  secret  of  its  home.  Once  or  twice  the 
statement  has  been  made  that  it  "was  seen  wild"  in 
northern  Japan, in  western  oreastern  China, or  in  Korea, 
but  subsequent  visits  by  those  competent  to  judge 
have  shown  the  authors  of  such  statements  at  fault 
in  their  identification  of  the  tree,  or  misled  and 
hasty  in  their  findings.  It  is  known  in  Japan,  Korea, 
southern  Manchuria,  and  in  China  proper  as  a  planted 
tree  only,  and  usually  in  association  with  religious 
buildings,  palaces,  tombs,  and  old  historical  or  geo- 
mantic  sites.  Whilst  excessive  cold  may  reasonably 
5i 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

explain  its  disappearance  from  much  of  the  Northern 
Hemisphere  it  does  not  account  for  its  absence  in  a 
wild  state  in  the  Orient,  where  fossil  evidence  proves 
its  presence  in  epochs  coeval  with  those  in  America 
and  Europe.  Having  successfully  withstood  varying 
conditions  throughout  an  inconceivable  period  of 
time,  as  proved  by  the  geological  record,  it  seems 
passing  strange  that  it  should  so  comparatively 
recently  have  disappeared.  What  caused  its  disap- 
pearance we  shall  never  know,  but  the  same  has  hap- 
pened to  billions  upon  billions  of  organic  forms  since 
first  progressive  organic  development  began.  More 
marvellous  is  the  fact  that  this  extraordinary  type  of 
vegetation  should  have  persisted  through  the  aeons 
to  the  present. 

The  earliest  known  mention  of  the  Ginkgo  in  books 
is  in  a  Chinese  work  on  agriculture  which  dates  from 
the  8th  century  of  our  era.  At  the  beginning  of 
iooo  a.d.  the  fruit  was  taken  as  tribute  by  the  newly 
established  Sung  Dynasty  being  known  as  "Ya- 
chio-tzu,"  which  signifies  "Silver-apricot,"  from  its 
resemblance  to  the  kernel  of  an  apricot.  In  the  great 
Chinese  Herbal,  issued  in  1578,  the  author  calls 
it  the  "Ya-chio-tzu,"  which  means  "the  tree  with 
leaves  like  a  duck's  foot"  and  is  quite  descriptive. 
These  old  names  may  be  in  use  in  parts  of  China  to- 
day, but  I  never  heard  them  used;  the  names  in 
52 


THE     STORY    OF    THE    GINKGO 

general  use  in  those  parts  of  the  Flowery  Land  I 
travelled  through  are  "  Yin-kuo-tsu"  (Silver  nut- 
tree)  and  "Pai-kuo-tzu"  (White  nut-tree).  In 
Korea  it  is  known  as  the  "Eun  Haing-namou"  which 
is  simply  the  Korean  rendering  of  the  Chinese  name. 
In  Japan  the  tree  is  known  as  the  I-cho,  and  the  fruit 
as  Gin-nan,  which  again  is  a  translation  of  its  Chinese 
name.  The  tree  reached  Japan  with  Buddhism  in 
the  6th  century  of  the  Christian  Era,  and  "Ginkgo" 
is  simply  the  Japanese  rendering  of  the  Chinese  name 
"Yin-kou."  In  this  connection  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  Chinese  ideograph  and  Chinese  lit- 
erature were  adopted  by  the  Japanese  long,  long 
ago.  The  best  authorities  claim  that  the  first 
Chinese  books  were  brought  to  Japan  in  285  a.d.; 
that  Buddhism  was  introduced  from  China  via 
Korea  in  552,  and  that  the  Chinese  calendar  was 
introduced  in  602.  It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  the 
Ginkgo  in  those  early  days  existed  as  a  wild  tree  in 
the  forests  of  Japan,  but  it  may  be  assumed  with  al- 
most absolute  certainty  that  in  any  case  it  was 
brought  to  Japan  by  Korean  and  Chinese  Buddhist 
monks  and  planted  by  them  in  the  earliest  days  of 
their  proselytizing.  Many  of  the  magnificent  old 
Ginkgo-trees  in  Japan  are  claimed  to  be  more  than  a 
thousand  years  old  and  there  is  no  valid  reason  for 
disputing  the  statement. 

53 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

We  of  the  West  owe  our  first  knowledge  of  the 
Ginkgo-tree  to  Engelbert  Kaempfer,  who,  as  a  sur- 
geon in  the  service  of  the  old  Dutch  East-India  Com- 
pany, visited  Japan  in  September,  1692,  and  during 
the  time  made  an  overland  journey  from  Nagasaki 
to  Tokyo.  He  returned  to  Europe  in  1694,  and 
published  a  book  in  17 12  in  which  he  gives  a  good 
figure  of  the  Ginkgo.  An  Englishman  named  Gor- 
don, in  1 77 1,  sent  a  plant  of  it  to  the  great  Linnaeus 
who  adopted  Kaempfer's  name  for  the  generic  title  of 
the  tree,  calling  it  Ginkgo  biloba.  In  1796,  an  English 
botanist,  one  Smith,  renamed  it  Salisburia  adianti- 
folia  on  the  grounds  that  Linnaeus's  name  was 
"equally  uncouth  and  barbarous."  This  act  of 
pedantry  was  very  properly  objected  to  at  the  time 
and  later  Smith's  name  was  abandoned  for  the  older 
and  legitimate  one  given  by  Linnaeus. 

The  Ginkgo-tree  was  first  introduced  into  Europe 
by  the  Dutch  sometime  between  1727  and  1737,  and 
planted  in  the  Botanic  Garden  at  Utrecht,  but  the 
date  is  uncertain.  It  came  to  England  between  1752 
and  1754,  presumably  by  seeds  brought  direct  from 
Japan.  The  first  tree  to  flower  in  Europe  was  in 
Kew  Gardens  in  1795  and  proved  to  be  male.  The 
famous  Jacquin  planted  a  tree  in  Vienna  about  1768, 
and  this  tree  when  it  flowered,  proved  to  be  a  male 
also.  Of  its  first  introduction  to  France  the  following 
54 


THE     STORY     OF    THE    GINKGO 

interesting  story  is  on  record  as  related  by  M.  Andre 
Thouin,  when  delivering  his  annual  Cours  d'Agricul- 
ture  Pratique  in  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  Paris.  In 
1780  a  Parisian  amateur  named  M.  Petigny  voy- 
aged to  London  in  order  to  see  the  principal  gardens 
there.  Among  those  he  visited  was  that  of  a  nur- 
seryman who  possessed  five  young  Ginkgo  plants, 
all  in  one  pot,  raised  from  seeds  received  from  Japan. 
The  plants  were  very  rare  and  the  nurseryman  val- 
ued them  highly  but  after  abundant  hospitality,  in 
which  wine  was  not  omitted,  he  parted  with  them  for 
twenty-five  guineas  which  the  Frenchman  promptly 
paid,  and  lost  no  time  in  taking  away  his  valuable 
acquisition.  Next  morning  the  Englishman's  gene- 
rosity of  spirit  induced  by  the  wine  was  replaced  by  a 
keen  sense  of  business  acumen  and  he  bewailed  his  loss 
of  the  five  Ginkgo  plants.  He  sought  out  M.  Pe- 
tigny and  tried  to  buy  them  back,  finally  offering 
for  a  single  one  the  twenty-five  guineas  he  had 
received  for  the  five.  The  Frenchman  refused  and 
carried  the  plants  to  France.  His  story  of  out- 
witting a  native  of  "perfidious  Albion"  was  much 
enjoyed  in  Paris,  and,  as  each  plant  had  cost  him  but 
about  120  francs  or  40  crowns,  the  tree  was  chris- 
tened "Arbre  aux  quarante  ecus!"  Most  of  the  older 
trees  in  France  are  said  to  have  been  derived  from  the 
above  five,  but  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  in  17S8,  gave  to 
55 


THE  ROMANCE  OF  OUR  TREES 
Broussonet,  who  was  then  in  London,  a  Ginkgo  plant 
and  he  sent  it  to  Professor  Gouan  of  the  Montpellier 
Botanic  Garden  where  it  was  planted.  In  1790,  an 
English  amateur  named  Blake,  sent  a  Ginkgo  plant 
to  M.  Gaussen  de  Chapeau-rouge  who  had  a  garden 
at  Bourdigny,  a  village  two  leagues  from  Geneva, 
Switzerland,  where  he  cultivated  many  rare  trees. 
This  tree  is  historical.  It  proved  to  be  a  female, 
the  discovery  being  made  by  Auguste  Pyramus 
De  Candolle  in  1814.  Scions  from  this  tree  were 
distributed  over  Europe  by  its  discoverer  and  grafted 
on  the  male  trees  including  those  at  Vienna  and 
Montpellier.  In  fact,  all  the  fruiting  trees  in  Europe 
up  to  1882  are  believed  to  have  originated  by  graft- 
ing from  the  tree  near  Geneva.  As  a  result  the  tree 
at  Montpellier  produced  perfect  fruit  for  the  first 
time  in  Europe,  in  1835.  The  original  female  tree  at 
Bourdigny  was  cut  down  before  1866  by  order  of  a 
new  proprietor  of  the  grounds  who  cared  nothing  for 
trees. 

The  introduction  of  the  Maidenhair-tree  to  Amer- 
ica is  said  to  be  due  to  William  Hamilton  who  ob- 
tained it  from  England  in  1784  and  planted  it  in  his 
garden  at  Woodlands,  near  Philadelphia,  where  it 
grows  to-day  though  the  garden  itself  has  become  a 
cemetery.  In  the  first  years  of  the  19th  century  it 
was  planted  by  Doctor  Hosack  at  Hyde  Park  on 
56 


THE    STORY    OF    THE    GINKGO 

the  banks  of  the  Hudson  River.  On  the  north  side 
of  Boston  Common  grows  a  historic  Ginkgo  which  is 
possibly  older  than  the  tree  at  Woodlands  and  prob- 
ably came  direct  from  China.  It  is  said  to  have 
been  a  tree  of  "full  size  when  Mr.  Gardiner  Greene 
purchased  the  garden  in  1798."  The  site  of  the 
garden  is  now  occupied  by  the  Court  House  in  Pem- 
berton  Square.  After  Mr.  Greene's  death  in  1832, 
the  grounds  were  sold  and  the  tree  moved  to  its  pres- 
ent position  in  1838.  The  city  paid  a  portion  of  the 
cost  and  each  of  Mr.  Greene's  children  contributed 
one  hundred  dollars.  The  tree  when  moved  was  40 
ft.  tall  and  4  ft.  in  girth  of  trunk.  Those  were  times 
of  great  financial  stringency,  and  there  was  some 
opposition  to  the  spending  of  public  money  on  mov- 
ing a  tree.  The  talk  was  considerable  and  the  fa- 
mous physician,  Dr.  Jacob  Bigelow,  a  friend  of 
Gardiner  Greene,  and  himself  mainly  responsible  for 
saving  the  tree,  wrote  a  lengthy  and  amusing  poem 
on  the  incident,  beginning: 

Thou  queer,  outlandish,  fan-leaved  tree, 
Whose  grandfather  came  o'er  the  sea 

A  pilgrim  of  the  ocean, 
Didst  thou  expect  to  gather  gear 
By  selling  out  thy  chopsticks  here? 

In  China  the  Ginkgo  as  a  planted  tree  is  associated 
with    Chinese    civilization    almost    throughout    the 
57 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

length  and  breadth  of  the  kingdom.  I  am  not  sure 
that  it  grows  in  the  hotter  parts  of  southern  China, 
and  where  I  have  seen  it  most  abundantly  is  in  the 
western  province  of  Szechuan  (the  province  of  the 
four  streams).  There  I  met  with  the  most  perfect 
specimen  of  a  Ginkgo-tree  I  have  ever  seen.  It 
grows  a  few  miles  above  the  city  of  Kiating,  but  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Min  River,  and  in  1908  was 
about  100  ft.  tall,  had  a  symmetrical,  narrow-oval 
crown  with  branches  almost  sweeping  the  ground, 
and  a  trunk  24  ft.  in  girth.  It  is  a  male.  I  have 
seen  others  in  China  with  rather  larger  trunks  but 
never  one  quite  so  tall  or  so  lovely  in  form.  In  the 
grounds  of  the  Yellow  Dragon  Temple  at  Ruling,  a 
summer  resort  in  the  Lushan  Mountains  behind 
Kiukiang  on  the  Yangtsze  River,  grows  a  famous  old 
Ginkgo  not  especially  tall  (about  70  ft.)  but  with  a 
trunk  25  ft.  in  girth.  In  and  around  Shanghai  are 
many  fine  specimens  of  this  tree.  A  little  to  the  west 
of  Shanghai  in  a  district  unfrequented  by  foreigners 
the  late  Frank  N.  Meyer,  plant  explorer  in  China 
for  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
found  the  Ginkgo  to  be  common  and  used  for  fuel, 
and  he  suggested  that  it  might  be  truly  wild  there. 
Meyer's  opinion  is  more  worthy  of  respect  than  thoseof 
many  other  travellers  who  have  made  similar  ascer- 
tions  but  I  am  an  unconvinced  sceptic.  A  Russian 
58 


THE     STORY     OF     THE     GINKGO 

botanist  of  German  extraction,  Dr.  Alexander  von 
Bunge,  who  accompanied  the  nth  Ecclesiastical 
Mission  sent  by  the  Russian  Government  to  Peking 
in  1830  where  he  stayed  for  nearly  eight  months, 
tells  of  seeing  a  Ginkgo-tree  near  Peking  "of  prodigi- 
ous height  and  40  ft.  in  circumference."  No  sub- 
sequent traveller  has  seen  a  tree  of  such  huge  dimen- 
sions and  the  probability  is  that  Bunge  exaggerated. 

1  n  southern  Manchuria  and  in  Korea  growfine  speci- 
mens of  the  Ginkgo,  especially  in  Keijyo,  the  capital 
city  of  Korea,  where  trees  from  80  to  90  ft.  tall  and 
from  18  to  20  ft.  in  girth  of  trunk  are  fairly  common. 
In  the  courtyard  of  Choanji  temple  in  the  Diamond 
Mountains,  a  Buddhist  sanctuary  and  one  of  the 
loveliest  spots  on  earth,  there  is  a  fine  old  specimen 
some  80  ft.  tall  and  14  ft.  in  girth  of  trunk  and  with 
abundant  sprouts.  The  most  northerly  place  in  which 
I  saw  the  Ginkgo  growing  in  Korea  was  about  40  miles 
east  of  Gensan.  In  Korea  the  people  claim  that  one 
may  sit  down  on  the  ground  beneath  the  shade  of  a 
Ginkgo-tree  and  not  be  pestered  with  ants,  but  my 
experience  does  not  support  this  claim. 

It  is  in  Japan  and  in  the  city  of  Tokyo,  however, 
that  I  have  seen  the  finest  average  trees  and  the  great- 
est in  size  of  trunk.  Every  park,  temple  ground,  and 
palace  yard  has  its  Ginkgo-tree  which  is  usually  of 
great  size.  There  are  handsome  specimens  in  Hibya 
59 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

and  Shiba  parks,  but  the  finest  I  saw  grows  in  Koy- 
enji  temple  grounds  and  is  about  85  ft.  tall  and  28 
ft.  in  girth  of  trunk.  In  the  grounds  of  the  Zan- 
pukuji  Temple  in  Azabu,  Tokyo,  there  is  a  grand 
old  tree  with  a  trunk  30  ft.  in  girth  but  the  top  has 
been  broken  off  by  a  storm.  In  the  Imperial  Botanic 
Gardens  in  Koishikawa,  Tokyo,  grows  the  Ginkgo- 
tree  on  which  Professor  S.  Hirase  carried  out  the 
experiments  in  1896  which  led  to  his  remarkable  dis- 
covery of  the  motile  male  sperms.  At  the  Hachiman 
shrine  in  Kamakura  there  is  a  Ginkgo  said  to  be 
more  than  a  thousand  years  old,  about  20  feet 
in  girth  of  trunk.  In  the  old  capitol  of  Kyoto  the 
tree  is  common,  and  in  the  courtyard  of  the  Nishi- 
Hongwanji  there  is  an  old  tree,  much  broken  by 
storms  and  some  15  feet  in  girth  of  trunk,  which  is 
supposed  to  protect  the  temple  against  fire  by  dis- 
charging showers  of  water  whenever  a  conflagration  in 
the  vicinity  threatens  danger !  I  n  the  old  8th  century- 
capital,  Nara,  and  quite  near  the  hotel,  there  is  an  ex- 
traordinary Ginkgo  out  of  which  is  growing  a  Keaki 
tree  {Zelkova  serrata)  with  a  trunk  8  feet  in  girth.  It 
evidently  originated  from  a  seed  planted  in  a  fissure 
of  the  Ginkgo-tree  by  the  wind  or  by  a  bird.  The 
trees  are  about  equal  height  (75  feet)  and  the  com- 
posite trunk  is  15  feet  in  girth.  It  is  entitled  to  rank 
among  the  marvels  of  Japan  for  it  looks  as  if  two 
60 


THE    STORY    OF    THE    GINKGO 

trees  had  been  grafted  together.  Of  course  no  or- 
ganic union  between  two  trees  representing  almost 
the  poles  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  is  possible,  but 
they  thrive  together  harmoniously. 

On  the  massive  lower  branches  of  old  Ginkgo-trees 
thick,  peg-like  structures  develop  which  grow  down- 
ward and  on  reaching  the  ground  develop  true  roots 
from  their  apex  and  give  off  branches  above.  The 
growths  are  often  very  numerous  and  are  sometimes 
as  much  as  from  12  to  16  feet  long  and  one  foot  in  di- 
ameter. This  phenomenon  is  rare  in  China  and 
Korea,  but  is  common  in  Japan  where  the  growths 
are  styled  "chi-chi":  that  is,  teats  or  nipples.  Their 
truecharacter  is  not  properly  understood  but  evidently 
they  serve  to  prolong  the  life  of  the  tree  by  developing 
new  stems  and  branches. 

From  the  trunks  of  old  trees  many  sprouts  develop 
which  sometimes  form  a  veritable  thicket  of  ascending 
stems.  If  the  top  of  the  tree  be  broken,  as  fre- 
quently happens  in  the  long  life  of  the  tree,  new  shoots 
arise,  grow  upward,  and  make  a  new  crown.  The 
vitality  of  the  tree  is  marvellous  and  Mother  Nature 
seems  to  have  endowed  it  with  a  thousand  and  one 
means  of  maintaining  its  existence.  I  never  saw  a 
dead  Ginkgo  during  the  twenty  years  I  have  trav- 
elled in  the  Far  East. 

Japanese  gardeners  raise  many  seedlings  in  a  pot 
61 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

or  pan  and  use  them  for  table  decorations,  but  as  a 
dwarfed  tree  the  Ginkgo  is  not  much  in  request  in 
Japan. 

As  far  as  authentic  records  go  the  oldest  Ginkgo- 
trees  in  this  country  are  the  two  in  Woodlands 
Cemetery,  Philadelphia,  which  were  planted  by 
William  Hamilton  in  1784.  The  largest,  a  male, 
measures  7  feet  7  inches  in  girth  of  trunk,  the  other  is 
female  and  measures  6  feet  6  inches  in  girth.  Both 
are  fully  75  feet  tall  and  in  vigorous  health.  Profes- 
sor Harshberger,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the 
above  measurements,  thinks  the  Ginkgo  in  the  old 
Bartram  Garden  in  West  Philadelphia  is  the  oldest 
and  the  first  planted  in  America,  basing  his  opinion 
on  the  facts  that  this  garden  is  older  than  that 
founded  by  Hamilton  and  that  the  tree  is  larger, 
being  9  feet  3  inches  in  girth.  I  have  told  of  the  old 
tree  on  Boston  Common,  and  in  the  Public  Gardens 
of  Boston  there  are  a  number  of  fine  trees,  the  best 
being  60  feet  tall  and  7  feet  in  girth  of  trunk.  In 
Mount  Auburn  Cemetery,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  there  is 
a  handsome  specimen,  probably  planted  under  the  di- 
rection of  Dr.  Jacob  Bigelow  soon  after  the  cemetery 
was  started,  which  the  Assistant  Superintendent, 
Mr.  John  Peterson,  kindly  informs  me  is  about  88 
feet  high  and  7  feet  1 1  inches  in  girth  at  five  feet  from 
the  ground.  Unfortunately  the  symmetry  of  the 
62 


THE    STORY    OF    THE    GINKGO 

tree  was  spoiled  by  a  storm  two  years  ago  which 
broke  off  one  of  the  principal  branches.  In  the 
Missouri  Botanic  Garden,  St.  Louis,  grows  a  fine 
Ginkgo-tree  which  is  about  65  feet  tall  and  7  feet  in 
girth.  Probably  the  largest  and  best  Ginkgo  in  this 
country  is  at  Hyde  Park,  on  the  Hudson,  New  York, 
which  as  before  stated  was  planted  very  early  in  the 
19th  century  by  Doctor  Hosack.  In  a  letter,  the 
present  owner,  F.  W.  Vanderbilt,  Esq.,  courteously  in- 
forms me  "that  it  measures  1 1  feet  2  inches  around 
the  trunk  two  feet  from  the  ground  just  where  the 
branches  begin  to  spread,  1 1  feet  1  inch  at  six 
inches  from  the  ground,  70  feet  spread  from  tips  of 
branches,  and  the  height  from  80  to  85  feet.  This 
tree  is  in  splendid  condition  and  vigorously  healthy. 
It  is  always  perfectly  clean  and  has  never  had  a  dead 
branch  on  it  of  even  the  smallest  size  and  the  tree  has 
never  required  spraying  during  the  24  years  I  have 
been  here." 

Perhaps  the  best-known  Maidenhair-trees  in 
America  are  those  forming  the  avenue  in  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  grounds,  Washington,  D.  C. 
There  are  some  ninety  trees  in  the  avenue  and  on  the 
curves  of  the  drive  which  lead  into  the  avenue.  The 
trees  were  all  planted  at  the  same  time  but  vary 
greatly  in  size.  The  tallest  is  about  52  feet  and 
a  good  many  of  them  are  about  48  feet  in  height, 
63 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

the  average  being  about  40 feet  tall;  in  girth  they  vary 
from  2\  feet  to  *j\  feet.  In  the  parks  of  Minneapolis, 
Minn.,  the  Superintendent,  Mr.  Theodore  Wirth,  tells 
me  that  the  Ginkgo  is  hardy  but  that  so  far  they  have 
not  found  a  satisfactory  place  for  it.  As  to  its  beha- 
viour in  Canada,  Mr.  W.  T.  Macoun,  Dominion  Hor- 
ticulturist, obligingly  informs  me  that  he  has  "seen 
very  few  specimens  of  this  tree  in  Canada,  but  we  have 
been  growing  it  here  for  twenty-five  years  and  there 
are  a  few  specimens  on  the  grounds  of  about  that 
age.  They  are  from  25  to  30  feet  high,  and,  although 
rather  slow  in  growth,  may  be  considered,  I  think, 
perfectly  hardy  although  occasionally  the  tips  kill 
back.  So  far  as  I  know  they  are  not  grown  in  any 
colder  part  of  Canada.  The  winter  of  19 17- 18  was 
the  most  trying  on  both  fruit  trees  and  ornamental 
trees  that  we  have  experienced  in  thirty  years,  but  the 
Ginkgo  was  not  injured.  During  that  winter  it  was 
below  zero  on  fifty-seven  days,  the  lowest  tempera- 
ture being  thirty-one  below  zero,  Fahr.  We  have 
tested  the  Ginkgo  in  our  Prairie  provinces  but  it  has 
not  proved  hardy  there."  On  the  Pacific  seaboard  I 
do  not  remember  any  remarkable  trees,  and  a  friend 
in  Oregon  to  whom  I  wrote  tells  me  that  they  do  not 
seem  happy  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Portland. 

The  first  tree  to  fruit  in  this  country  was  probably 
one  in  the  grounds  of  the  Kentucky  Military  Insti- 
64 


THE    STORY     OF     THE    GINKGO 

tution,  in  1878,  and  seeds  from  this  tree  were  sent 
to  the  Arnold  Arboretum.  Trees  in  Central  Park, 
New  York  City,  have  fruited  for  a  number  of  years 
past.  So,  too,  have  those  in  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
others  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 

In  England  the  tallest  Maidenhair-tree  is  said  to 
grow  at  Melbury,  Dorchester,  which  in  1904  was 
more  than  80  feet  tall,  but  the  best  known  example 
is  that  in  Kew  Gardens  a  male  tree,  64  feet  9  inches 
tall  and  10  feet  7  inches  in  girth  of  trunk.  At 
Frogmore,  one  of  the  gardens  belonging  to  England's 
King,  there  is  a  Ginkgo-tree  which  in  1904  measured 
74  feet  in  height  and  9  feet  3  inches  in  girth  of  trunk. 
At  Blaize  Castle,  near  Bristol,  there  is  a  tree  68  feet 
tall  and  9  feet  3  inches  in  girth  of  trunk  in  1906; 
it  is  graceful  in  habit  and  said  to  have  come  from 
Japan  on  the  same  ship  with  the  one  at  Kew  and 
another  in  the  Bishop's  garden  at  Wells,  Somerset- 
shire. In  Wales  the  finest  example  known  is  at 
Morgan  Park,  Glamorganshire,  which  in  1904  was 
about  70  feet  tall  and  6  feet  in  girth  of  trunk. 

On  the  continent  of  Europe,  where  the  climate  is 
apparently  more  to  the  tree's  liking,  many  magnifi- 
cent Ginkgos  may  be  seen.  In  the  Botanic  Gardens 
at  Milan  there  are  handsome  specimens;  growing  in 
the  old  botanical  garden  at  Geneva  are  a  male  and  a 
female  tree  planted  in  181 5;  in  1905  the  male  meas- 
65 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

ured  86  feet  high  and  4  feet  10  inches  in  girth  of 
trunk  and  is  straight  and  upright  in  habit;  the 
female,  which  bears  good  seed,  is  much  smaller.  It  is 
claimed  that  the  Ginkgo  in  Europe  will  live  outdoors 
as  far  north  as  Viborg  in  Finland  (Lat.  6o°  45'  N.) 
and  that  it  thrives  in  Riga  (Lat.  560  57'  N.).  In 
Norway,  in  the  Botanic  Gardens  at  Christiania,  it 
has  grown  outdoors  on  a  wall  facing  east  since  1839. 
In  southern  Sweden,  in  Skaone,  and  on  Gothland,  it 
grows  well,  and  in  Denmark  it  thrives  in  many 
gardens. 

Apart  from  the  typical  tree  there  is  a  form  (pend- 
ida)  with  pendent  branchlets;  another  (jastigiata)  with 
upright  growing  branches;  a  third  (variegata)  has 
leaves  blotched  and  streaked  with  pale  yellow,  and  a 
fourth  (macrophylla)  is  characterized  by  its  larger, 
more  deeply  cut  leaves.  The  pendulous  and  upright 
forms  are  worth  cultivating,  but  the  other  two  have 
nothing  to  recommend  them  except  that  they  are 
curious. 

This  sole  survivor  of  an  extensive  family  in  pre- 
historic periods  of  the  earth's  history  is  quite  unique 
among  existing  trees.  It  boasts  a  whole  catalogue 
of  peculiarities  and  is  not  closely  related  to  any  living 
family  or  group  in  the  whole  vegetable  kingdom. 
Its  leaves  resemble  the  pinnae  of  the  common  Maid- 
enhair Fern;  its  plum-like  fruit  is  not  a  fruit  in  the 
66 


FIRS1    (MALE)  GINKGO  INTRODUCED  TO  ENG1    \\  l>.   \  I    KE\*    GARDEN! 


I  II  I      GINKGO    IS     \ 

LINK     Willi     I  II  1 
1. 1. Ml  I  I  I  SS     PAS  I 


I  III       II    KK  I  HI    I       IIMKM      W    S-.      C      I  Ml  Mill    SSI      OF 

III      I   \R  III      is      I  III       v.. I       will  K I       I  III       GINKGO 

11    I  OSes 


GINKGO    AVENUE    AT    WASHINGTON,    D.    C. 
ON  THE   DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE  GROUNDS 


THE    STORY     OF    THE    GINKGO 

true  botanical  sense  of  the  term  but  is  a  naked  seed 
somewhat  resembling  that  of  the  Californian  Nutmeg 
(Torreya  calijornica)  or  that  of  the  Cycads;  it  is 
fertilized  by  a  motile  sperm  like  the  Cycads,  Ferns, 
and  Club  Mosses;  its  shoots  are  of  two  forms  like 
those  of  the  Larches  and  like  them  it  loses  its  leaves 
in  autumn.  But  whilst  it  possesses  these  points  of 
similarity  it  is  closely  related  to  none  of  them  nor 
to  anything  else,  and  constitutes  a  family  of  its  own 
which  forms  an  obscure  connecting  link  between  the 
Yew  family,  the  Cycads,  the  Ferns,  and  their  allies. 
It  is  hardy  in  New  England  as  far  north  as  Hanover, 
New  Hampshire,  is  unaffected  by  summer  drought, 
and  thrives  under  city  conditions  as  well  as  in  the 
pure  air  of  the  country;  it  is  not  known  to  be  at- 
tacked by  any  pest,  insect  or  fungoid,  and  lives  to  a 
great  age.  It  transplants  readily  when  of  large 
size,  as  the  tree  on  Boston  Common  testifies.  The 
Japanese  think  nothing  of  moving  trees  40  feet  tall 
and  more  than  a  foot  in  diameter  of  trunk.  An 
avenue  of  Ginkgo-trees  of  this  size  was  planted  in 
19 1 4  on  the  boulevard  leading  from  the  terminal 
station  in  Tokyo  and  not  one  died.  However,  in 
this  connection  it  must  be  remembered  that  Japan 
enjoys  a  more  generous  summer  rainfall  than  North 
America  does. 

At  maturity  the  Ginkgo  is  a  stately  tree  100  feet 
67 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

or  more  tall,  with  a  cylindric,  slightly  tapering  trunk 
sometimes  30  feet  in  girth  at  breast  height  above  the 
ground.  Young  free-growing  trees  commonly  have 
their  primary  branches  radiating  in  clusters  (false 
whorls)  from  the  stem,  tier  above  tier,  and  the  out- 
line of  the  tree  is  distinctly  spirelike.  Very  rarely 
does  this  habit  obtain  at  ripe  old  age.  Most  usually 
the  crown  is  made  up  of  several  massive,  ascending 
and  ascending- spreading  branches  and  innumer- 
able irregularly  disposed,  but  more  or  less  horizon- 
tally spreading,  often  semi-pendent  branchlets.  In 
such  trees  the  habit  is  from  loosely  pyramidal  to  more 
or  less  conical.  Round-headed  trees  are  not  un- 
common but  a  flat-headed  one  I  have  never  seen. 
The  branches  are  rigid  and  when  clothed  with  leaves 
decidedly  plumose  in  appearance.  The  bark  on  the 
trunk  is  from  pale  to  dark  gray,  somewhat  corky,  and 
fissured  into  ridges  of  irregular  shape.  The  wood  is 
white  or  yellowish  white  and  is  not  differentiated  into 
heartwood  and  sapwood;  it  is  fine  grained,  something 
like  that  of  a  Maple,  is  easily  worked  but  is  of  no 
great  value.  In  Japan  it  is  used  as  a  groundwork  for 
lacquer-ware  and  for  making  chess-boards  and 
chessmen. 

The  leaves  are  quite  unlike  those  of  any  other  tree 
or  shrub   and   are  unique  in   their  fan-like  shape; 
they  are  stalked,  have  no  midrib  but  many  forked 
68 


THE    STORY     OF    THE    GINKGO 

veins  and  no  cross  veinlets;  the  apex  is  irregularly 
crenate  or  cut  and  is  usually  cleft,  more  or  less  deeply, 
into  two  or  more  lobes.  In  bud  the  leaves  are 
folded  together  not  rolled  up  crozier-like  as  in  the 
Ferns,  they  are  scattered  on  the  long  free-shoots  and 
crowded  at  the  apex  of  the  short,  spur-like  branches. 
In  size  they  vary  from  2  to  3  inches  in  width  on  the 
spurs,  but  on  the  free-shoots,  and  especially  those 
which  freely  develop  from  the  base  of  the  trunks  of 
old  trees,  they  are  sometimes  from  6  to  8  inches 
broad,  and  are  bright,  grass-green  when  young,  and 
dull,  rich  green  at  maturity.  They  are  leathery  in 
texture,  and  in  the  autumn  assume  an  unvarying 
tint  of  clear  yellow  before  they  fall.  In  China  the 
leaves  are  sometimes  placed  in  books  as  a  preserva- 
tive against  insects.  In  the  Orient  the  lovely 
yellow  autumn  foliage  renders  the  trees  most  con- 
spicuous, and  after  the  fall  of  the  leaf  they  are  easily 
recognized  by  their  rather  stiff  and  decidedly  stately 
appearance. 

The  trees  bear  either  male  or  female  flowers  but 
the  two  sexes  are  never  found  on  one  and  the  same 
individual  unless  deliberately  grafted  together.  In 
some  books  it  is  claimed  that  the  "male  trees  are 
pyramidal  and  upright  in  habit,  the  ascending 
branches  of  free  and  vigorous  growth";  that  the 
"female  trees  are  more  compact  in  habit,  more 
69 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

richly  branched  below  and  the  branches  sometimes 
becoming  even  pendent."  Personally  I  have  not 
found  it  possible  to  determine  the  sex  of  the  tree  by 
its  habit  and  the  many  Japanese,  Koreans,  and 
Chinese  whom  I  have  questioned  on  this  point 
assert  that  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  do  so.  Could 
some  reliable  means  of  distinguishing  the  male  from 
the  female  trees  be  found  it  would  be  of  considerable 
value,  for  as  an  avenue  tree  the  female,  on  account 
of  the  evil  smell  of  its  ripe  seed,  is  not  desirable,  as 
the  people  of  Washington,  D.  C,  will  testify.  The 
flowers  are  developed  from  among  the  leaves  at  the 
apex  of  the  spur-like  shoots  and  appear  at  the  end  of 
April  or  beginning  of  May;  the  males  in  arching 
catkins,  superficially  not  unlike  those  of  the  Oak 
but  rather  stouter  and  less  pendent;  the  females 
in  pairs  on  the  apex  of  slender  footstalks,  each  flower 
consisting  of  a  minute,  globose  little  body  tipped  by  a 
short  point  and  subtended  at  the  base  by  a  cup- 
shaped  swelling.  I  ndeed  they  are  very  like  the  flowers 
of  some  Oaks  (Quercus  glauca,  a  Japanese  species,  for 
example).  The  pollen  is  scattered  by  the  wind  and 
settles  on  the  tip  of  the  female  flower,  after  which 
the  cup  grows  up  and  encloses  the  globose  body. 
Fecundation  takes  place  early  in  September,  being 
preceded  by  many  changes  within  the  growing  nut- 
like body  which  culminate  in  the  development  of  a 
70 


THE    STORY     OF    THE     GINKGO 

motile  male  sperm  from  the  pollen  and  an  egg  cell 
in  the  female  flower.  Their  union  consummates  fe- 
cundation. The  development  of  the  embryo  takes 
place  early  in  November  when  the  seed  is  full 
grown,  yellow  in  colour,  and  ready  to  fall.  Often, 
indeed,  the  development  of  the  embryo  does  not 
take  place  until  the  seed  has  actually  fallen  to  the 
ground.  If  you  ask  why  this  essential  is  so  long 
delayed  no  answer  is  forthcoming.  Two  or  three 
embryos  are  sometimes  developed  in  one  seed.  The 
seeds  germinate  in  the  following  spring  and  the 
manner  is  very  like  that  of  the  Oak,  the  thick,  fleshy 
cotyledons  (seed  leaves)  with  their  food  stores  for  the 
developing  young  plant  remain  under  or  on  the 
ground;  the  primary  leaf  scales  are  3-seriate. 

But  we  are  getting  ahead  of  our  story  for  we  have 
omitted  to  describe  the  plum-like  fruit  which,  as 
stated  before,  is  not  a  true  fruit  but  is  a  naked  seed. 
It  is  round,  bright  orange-yellow,  about  an  inch  in 
diameter,  and  consists  of  a  thin,  outer  fleshy  layer, 
like  a  plum,  covering  a  pointed  oval  nut  from  one 
half  to  three  quarters  of  an  inch  long,  keeled  length- 
wise on  both  sides  and  having  a  smooth,  fragile 
white  shell  enclosing  a  soft  kernel.  On  or  soon 
after  falling  to  the  ground  the  fleshy  covering  splits 
and  emits  a  most  offensive,  nay,  abominable,  odour. 
If  the  ripe  seeds  are  handled  or  touch  one's  clothing 
7* 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

the  odour  is  not  eradicated  for  a  day  or  more.  This 
penetrating  offensive  smell  is  due  to  a  peculiar  crys- 
talizable,  fatty  acid,  akin  to  butric  acid,  which  was 
first  extracted  about  1830  and  named  ginkgoic  acid. 
When  extracted  it  forms  tufts  of  acicular  crystals, 
brownish  yellow  in  colour.  It  is  easily  soluble  in 
alcohol  or  ether  and  in  either  case  exhibits  a  strong 
acid  reaction;  when  heated  with  a  solution  of  potash 
it  forms  a  soap-like  compound.  I  do  not  know  if 
any  attempt  to  use  this  ginkgoic  acid  in  the  arts  and 
sciences  has  been  made. 

The  nuts,  denuded  of  their  offensive  pulp  and 
washed,  are  pure  white,  and  are  on  sale  in  most  of 
the  market  towns  in  China  and  Japan  and  in  a  less 
degree  in  those  of  Manchuria  and  Korea.  They  are 
known  in  China  as  "Pai-kuo"  or  "Yin-kuo"  (white or 
silver  nuts)  and,  after  roasting,  are  eaten  at  banquets, 
weddings,  and  convivial  gatherings  generally,  being 
supposed  to  promote  digestion  and  to  diminish  the 
effects  of  wine.  There  is  told  a  story  of  their  being 
introduced,  on  one  occasion  at  least,  by  Chinese  to  a 
mining  camp  in  north  Australia,  rubbed  with  some 
bad  scent  to  imitate  Tonquin  beans  and  sold  as 
such.  Their  avowed  virtue  was  to  destroy  moths 
but  for  such  purpose  they  and  also  the  true  Tonquin 
Bean  (the  seed  of  Dipteryx  odorata,  a  tree  native  of 
Guiana  and  belonging  to  the  Pea  family)  are  equally 
72 


THE    STORY    OF    THE    GINKGO 

worthless.  In  the  Orient  these  ginkgo  nuts  are  still 
an  important  commodity,  but  formerly  they  were 
even  more  so.  Pallas,  a  famous  Prussian  botanist, 
visited  the  market  town  of  Mai-mai-cheng,  opposite 
Kiakhta  in  Mongolia,  in  1772  and  saw  there  the  nuts 
on  sale.     They  had  been  brought  from  Peking. 

That  the  Ginkgo  has  been  closely  identified  with 
Buddhist  institutions  from  early  times,  and  by  ad- 
herents and  missionaries  of  this  religion  planted 
wherever  they  have  obtained  a  stronghold  in  the 
Orient,  is  beyond  question.  It  may  not  be  too  much 
to  say  that  its  very  existence  to-day  is  due  to  the 
adherents  of  this  faith.  Very  probably  they  found 
it  in  some  way  associated  with  Taoism  and  other 
forms  of  nature  worship  which  were  current  in 
China  when  first  they  established  their  faith  there, 
and  with  the  tolerant  Catholicism  which  character- 
ized the  early  fathers  of  this  religion,  adopted  it  as 
their  own.  But  whatever  the  actual  motive  which 
induced  the  Buddhists  and  other  religious  sects  to 
protect  and  preserve  by  wide  planting  the  Ginkgo- 
tree  it  may  safely  be  inferred  that  its  edible  nuts 
played  no  unimportant  part.  The  Ginkgo  is,  in  fact, 
the  oldest  cultivated  nut  tree. 


73 


THE     CEDAR     OF 
LEBANON 


A     PRESEN1     DAY     REMNANT    OF    MOUNT    LEBANON   S    ANCIENT     FORESTS 


'  AND  SOLOMON  DETERMINED  TO  BUILD  AN  HOUSE 
FOR  THE  NAME  OF  THE  LORD,  AND  AN  HOUSE 
FOR    nis    KINGDOM. 

"  AND  SOLOMON  SENT  TO  HURAM  THE  KING  OF  TYRE, 
SAYING,       .       .       . 

"SEND  ME  ALSO  CEDAR-TREES  OUT  OF  LEBANON." 


TS    FRUIT    OR    CON  E 


[•HEN    HURAM    I  III     KING    01      MKl     ANSWERED   IN 

WRITING,      .      .      . 

\ND    \\l     w  III     mi    WOOD  0U1     01     M  B  INI  IN,     *S 

Ml  ill     VS     I  H"i      SH  M  l     Nl  I  d:     \m>    *  I      will 

BRING   II     rO  THE1     IN    FLOTES  BY  SEA  TO  JOPP  \  . 

wit   Mini     SHALT  CARRY  IT  UP  TO  J ERUS/ 

ll  .  HRONII  LES,  II,   !.   ;.  s.   M.   l6 


THE     CEDAR     OF 

LEBANON 


CHAPTER    VI 


THE     STORY    OF    THE     CEDAR    OF 
LEBANON 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    STORY    OF    THE    CEDAR    OF 
LEBANON 

"The  righteous  shall  flourish  like  the  palm  tree:  he  shall  grow 
like  a  cedar  in  Lebanon."— Psalm  XCII  :i2. 

THE  Holy  Land  has  undergone  many  changes 
and  vicissitudes  from  early  biblical  times 
down  to  its  deliverance  from  the  Turks  by 
General  Allenby  in  October,  191 8.  The  very  aspect 
of  the  country  has  changed  enormously  in  the  few 
thousand  years  of  its  record  as  set  forth  in  Holy 
Scripture.  It  is  true  that  the  "physiognomy"  of 
every  country  is  based  primarily  on  its  geological 
structure,  that  is  on  the  character  and  arrangement 
of  its  rock  masses,  but  the  clothing  of  its  stony  skele- 
ton and  its  numberless  modifications  of  external  form 
and  colour  are  due  to  its  vegetable  life. 

More  than  skies  and  clouds,  more  than  villages  or 
hills,  more  than  sentient  creatures  of  high  or  low 
degree,  the  trees,  shrubs,  and  herbs  of  a  land  give  char- 
acter to  its  scenery;  impressing  the  mind  by  their 
grandeur,  or  charming  it  by  their  beauty.  De- 
77 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

nuded  of  its  vegetable  growth  the  very  skeleton  of  a 
country  changes  and  decays;  even  the  skies  and 
clouds  are  altered.  How  great  the  changes  that 
have  taken  place  in  Palestine  we  can  but  faintly 
imagine,  but  many  of  the  trees  mentioned  in  the 
Bible  still  grow  there  if  in  much  reduced  numbers. 
On  Lebanon  grow  the  Cedars  in  all  their  pristine 
majesty,  but  vastly  fewer  in  numbers  than  in  the 
days  when  Balaam  compared  the  far-stretching  en- 
campments of  the  Israelite  tribes  in  the  Jordan  val- 
ley to  "cedar  trees  beside  the  waters"  (Numbers, 
chap.  XXIV,  v.  6). 

Whether  the  word  "cedar"  in  the  Old  Testament 
connotes  one  or  many  kinds  of  tree  may  be  left  to 
the  biblical  critics  and  Hebraists,  but  there  is  ample 
and  unmistakable  proof  that  the  Cedar  of  Lebanon 
was  well  known  to  the  Prophets  and  other  teachers 
of  the  old  Hebrews.  By  their  poets,  as  every  Bible 
reader  knows,  the  forests  of  Lebanon  Cedars  were 
regarded  with  sacred  awe.  They  were  the  type  of 
power  and  majesty,  of  grandeur  and  beauty,  of 
strength  and  permanence;  as  "trees  of  Jehovah 
planted  by  His  right  hand  crowning  the  'great 
mountains'";  masterpieces  in  lofty  stature,  wide- 
spreading  shade,  perpetual  verdure,  refreshing  per- 
fume, and  unfailing  fruitfulness.  Some  of  the  finest 
imagery  in  Old  Testament  song  is  drawn  from  this 
78 


THE  CEDAR  OF  LEBANON 
oft-frequented  source.  The  mighty  conquerors  of 
olden  days,  the  despots  of  Assyria,  the  Pharaohs  of 
Egypt,  the  proud  and  idolatrous  monarchs  of  Ju- 
dah,  the  Hebrew  Commonwealth  itself,  the  warlike 
Amorites  of  patriarchal  times,  and  the  moral  maj- 
esty of  the  Messianic  Age,  are  all  compared  to  the 
towering  Cedar  in  its  regal  loftiness  and  supremacy. 
Its  huge  trunk,  massive  branches,  great  height, 
wide-spreading,  tabular,  densely  umbrageous  crown, 
dark  green  at  all  seasons,  are  so  well  known  that 
they  have  been  condensed  into  the  phrase  "cedar- 
like," in  common  use  to-day  by  writers  who  wish 
to  portray  the  general  aspect  of  certain  trees. 
Further,  the  colour,  character,  and  peculiar  fragrance 
of  the  wood  frequently  mentioned  by  Old  Testament 
writers  lead,  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times,  to 
the  name  "cedar"  being  given  wide  application. 
To-day  it  is  applied  to  a  variety  of  trees,  some 
closely  and  others  very  remotely  related  to  the  true 
Cedars.  In  fact,  nowadays  its  use  is  far  too  am- 
biguous and  connotes  little  besides  character  of 
wood  and  perhaps  fragrance.  It  is,  however,  an 
unconscious  tribute  to  the  reputation  of  the 
Cedar  of  Lebanon  so  deeply  established  in  the 
minds  of  mankind  and,  perhaps,  the  most  re- 
nowned and  most  venerated  natural  monument  in 
the  world. 

79 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

In  modern  times  many  distinguished  travellers 
and  men  of  science  have  visited  the  Cedar  of  Lebanon 
in  its  home  and  their  story,  old  yet  ever  new,  has  been 
written  over  and  over  again.  A  Frenchman,  Pierre 
Belon,  author  of  "  De  Arboribus  Coniferis,"  published 
in  1553,  and  the  first  treatise  on  Conifers  ever  written, 
ascended  Mt.  Lebanon  in  1550  and  visited  the  Mon- 
astery of  the  Virgin  Mary,  situated  in  a  valley  below 
a  grove  of  Cedar-trees  where  the  festival  of  the 
Transfiguration  was  held.  Then  as  now  this  and  other 
groves  belonged  to  the  Patriarch  of  the  Maronites 
— a  Christian  sect  inhabiting  Mt.  Lebanon.  Belon 
states  that  after  celebrating  High  Mass  upon  an  altar 
erected  under  one  of  the  largest  trees,  said  to  have 
been  planted  by  King  Solomon,  the  Patriarch  threat- 
ened with  ecclesiastical  censure  those  who  presumed  to 
hurt  or  diminish  the  Cedars  then  remaining.  Since 
Belon's  time  many  travellers  have  visited  the  Cedars 
on  Mt.  Lebanon  the  most  experienced  of  all  being 
the  late  Sir  Joseph  Hooker,  the  eminent  English 
botanist,  who  was  there  in  the  autumn  of  i860.  Sir 
Joseph's  visit  was  for  the  special  purpose  of  examining 
the  Cedar  groves,  and  in  the  Natural  History  Review, 
January,  1862,  he  published  a  most  interesting  ac- 
count of  them. 

The  elevation  of  Mt.  Lebanon  was  found  to  be 
10,200  feet  and  that  of  the  Kedisha  Valley  where 
80 


THE  CEDAR  OF  LEBANON 
the  trees  are  growing  6,200  feet.  The  whole  of  this 
area  of  Mt.  Lebanon  is,  to  quote  the  article,  "a 
confused  mass  of  ancient  moraines  which  have  been 
deposited  by  glaciers  that,  under  very  different  con- 
ditions of  climate,  once  filled  the  basin  above  them 
and  communicated  with  perpetual  snow  which  then 
covered  the  whole  summit.  The  rills  from  the  sur- 
rounding heights  collect  to  form  one  stream  and  the 
Cedars  grow  on  that  portion  of  the  moraine  which 
immediately  borders  the  stream,  and  nowhere  else. 
They  form  one  group  about  four  hundred  yards  in 
diameter  with  an  outstanding  tree  or  two  not  far 
from  the  rest,  and  appear  as  a  black  speck  in  the 
great  area  of  the  corry  and  its  moraines  which  con- 
tain no  other  arboreous  vegetation.  The  number  of 
trees  is  about  four  hundred,  and  they  are  disposed  in 
nine  groups,  corresponding  with  as  many  hummocks 
of  the  range  of  moraines.  The  trees  are  of  various 
sizes,  from  about  18  inches  to  upward  of  40  feet  in 
girth;  but  the  most  remarkable  and  significant 
fact  connected  with  their  size  and  consequently 
with  the  age  of  the  grove  is  that  there  is  no  tree  of 
less  than  18  inches  in  girth,  that  we  found  no  young 
trees,  bushes,  nor  even  seedlings  of  a  second  year's 
growth."  Sir  Joseph  Hooker  found  only  fifteen  trees 
above  1 5  feet  in  girth  and  these  all  grow  in  two  of  the 
nine  clumps.  He  estimated  the  age  of  the  youngest 
81 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

at  about  ioo  years,  and  the  oldest  at  2,500  years,  but 
with  no  degree  of  surety. 

To-day  some  five  groves  of  Cedrns  libani  are  known 
on  Lebanon,  the  one  containing  the  oldest  trees  being 
on  the  northern  slopes  above  Bsharri.  The  largest  tree, 
but  not  one  of  the  very  oldest,  is  48  feet  in  girth,  in  full 
growth  and  vigorous  health.  In  one  grove,  that  of 
Baruk  and  the  largest,  are  many  young  trees  in  all 
stages  of  growth.  Several  travellers  have  noted  that 
seedlings  spring  up  readily  but  are  browsed  off  by 
goats.  With  proper  protection  against  these  animals, 
and  the  forbidding  of  the  people  cutting  them,  these 
Cedargroves  would  increase  in  size  and  in  time  become 
forests,  as  in  the  days  of  King  Solomon. 

The  Cedar  of  Lebanon  is  not  confined  to  the 
mountain  of  that  name  but  grows  also  on  the  Taurus 
and  Anti-Taurus  ranges  in  Asia  Minor,  from  the 
province  of  Caria  in  the  west  to  near  the  frontier  of 
Armenia  in  the  east.  On  these  mountains  it  forms  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  coniferous  forest  between 
4,000  and  7,000  feet  but  appears  to  attain  its  maxi- 
mum development  on  the  Cilician  Taurus,  where  the 
climate  is  a  severe  one,  the  snow  lying  several  feet 
deep  on  the  ground  for  fully  five  months  of  the  year. 
At  least  such  is  the  statement  of  Walther  Siehe. 

The  Director  of  the  Arnold  Arboretum  heard  of 
this  discovery  on  the  Cilician  Taurus  and  commis- 
82 


THE     CEDAR    OF     LEBANON 

sioned  Siehe,  who  used  to  collect  bulbs  for  that  grand 
old  gardener,  Max  Leichtlin,  to  secure  seeds  of  the 
Cedar  of  Lebanon  from  this  cold  region.  On  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1902,  ripe  cones  were  received  at  the  Arnold 
Arboretum  and  the  seeds  sown.  They  germinated 
freely  and  many  plants  were  raised.  These  Cedars 
have  grown  more  rapidly  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum 
than  any  other  Conifer  has  ever  done.  In  fourteen 
years  the  tallest  was  22  feet  high.  They  passed  the 
winters  unscathed  until  the  dreadful  winters  of  1917- 
18  and  1919-20  which  badly  scorched  the  leaves. 
This  retarded  their  growth  though  none  died,  and 
now  they  are  again  well-furnished  with  foliage  and 
are  growing  well.  The  leaders  of  many  have  suf- 
fered from  the  Pine-needle  borer  but  new  ones  take 
their  place.  The  experiment  is  most  promising, 
and  certain  it  is  that  if  the  gardens  of  New  England  ever 
enjoy  Cedars  of  Lebanon  as  hardy  trees  it  will  be 
through  the  far-sightedness  of  the  Director  of  the 
Arnold  Arboretum.  Under  cultivation  several  varie- 
ties of  the  Cedar  of  Lebanon  have  appeared,  and  the 
more  important  are  distinguished  by  such  names  as 
argentea  nana,  pendula,  stricta,  tortuosa,  and  viridis. 

The  grandest  of  all  forms  of  vegetation  known  to 

the  Hebrews,  the  Cedar  of  Lebanon  has  rightly  found 

favour   in    many    lands.     It    loves    a   warm,    deep, 

well-drained  soil,  and  it  thrives  in  southern  California. 

83 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

In  England  no  other  exotic  tree,  perhaps,  has  been 
more  generally  planted  for  ornamental  purposes 
during  the  past  two  and  three  quarter  centuries. 
Thousands  of  noble,  wide-spreading  old  specimens 
are  scattered  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the 
other,  and  they  are  among  the  most  impressive  ob- 
jects in  many  stately  parks  and  pleasure  grounds. 
Visitors  from  this  and  other  lands  are  familiar  with 
the  majestic  Cedars  on  many  estates  in  England. 
Many  specimens  have  been  written  about,  measured, 
and  photographed,  and  we  can  do  no  more  than  in- 
cidentally mention  one  or  two.  Just  when  the 
Lebanon  Cedar  was  introduced  into  England  is  not 
clearly  known  and  probably  never  will  be.  The 
evidence  available  points  to  that  at  Childrey  Rectory, 
near  Wantage,  as  the  oldest  in  England.  It  is 
claimed  that  it  was  planted  by  Dr.  Edward  Pocock, 
who  was  chaplain  to  the  Turkey  Company  at  Aleppo 
in  1629  and  afterward  to  the  Embassy  at  Constan- 
tinople. Returning  home  in  1641,  Pocock  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  living  of  Childrey  in  1642.  In  1903 
his  Cedar  was  a  handsome  tree  still  growing  vigor- 
ously, and  measured  25  feet  in  girth  five  feet  from  the 
ground  and  its  spread  of  branches  covered  an  area  of 
1,600  square  yards. 

Wilton   House   near   Salisbury   is    famed    for   its 
Cedars.     In  1874  a  specimen  36  feet  in  girth  was  cut 
84 


THE    CEDAR    OF     LEBANON 

down  and  its  annual  rings,  carefully  counted,  num- 
bered two  hundred  and  thirty-six.  According  to  this 
the  tree  must  have  been  a  seedling  in  1638,  and  very 
probably  it  is  of  the  same  origin  as  the  one  at  Chil- 
drey  Rectory.  Loudon  thought  the  Cedars  in  the 
old  Physic  Garden  at  Chelsea,  planted  in  1683,  but 
now  dead,  and  those  at  Chiswick  House,  which  are 
still  flourishing,  were  the  oldest  in  England.  One  at 
Enfield  is  known  to  have  been  planted  by  Dr.  Robert 
Uvedale,  Master  of  Enfield  Grammar  School,  be- 
tween 1662  and  1670,  another,  also  still  living,  at 
Bretby  Park,  Derbyshire,  was  planted  in  1676. 

Among  the  many  noble  specimens  in  England  it  is 
difficult  to  state  which  is  the  largest  but  that  at 
Pain's  Hill,  near  Cobham,  figured  by  Elwes  and 
Henry  in  their  great  work  "  The  Trees  of  Great  Brit- 
ain and  Ireland"  and  by  them  measured  in  1904  and 
found  to  be  from  1 15  feet  to  120  feet  tall  and  26  feet 
5  inches  in  girth  of  trunk  with  a  wide-spreading  crown 
and  in  perfect  health,  must  be  counted  among  them. 
Another  in  Goodwood  Park,  the  seat  of  the  Duke  of 
Richmond,  was  measured  in  1906  and  found  to  be 
about  96  feet  tall  and  26J  feet  in  girth  of  trunk. 
Goodwood  is  probably  more  celebrated  for  its  Cedar 
trees  than  any  other  place  in  England.  There  is  a 
record  of  Peter  Collinson  in  1761  supervising  the 
planting  of  a  thousand  Cedars  for  the  then  Duke  of 
85 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Richmond.  The  tallest  tree  in  England  is  perhaps 
that  on  the  grounds  of  Petworth  Park  which  was 
measured  in  1905  and  found  to  be  about  125  feet 
tall  and  149  feet  in  girth  of  trunk.  Another  in  the 
Royal  domain  at  Windsor  is  fully  1 1 5  feet  tall.  The 
finest  avenue  of  Cedars  is  that  at  Dropmore,  planted 
in  1844,  but  there  is  some  question  as  to  whether 
they  are  Lebanon  or  Atlas  Cedars. 

In  Scotland  there  are  many  fine  Cedars  of  Lebanon 
and  some  are  scarcely  inferior  to  the  best  in  England. 
Perhaps  the  finest  is  that  at  Hopetoun,  the  seat  of  the 
Marquis  of  Linlithgow,  which  in  1904  measured  80 
feet  in  height  and  23  feet  8  inches  in  girth  of  trunk. 
In  Wales  and  Ireland  the  Cedar  of  Lebanon  has  not 
been  so  much  planted  and  these  are  very  few  notable 
specimens.  One  at  Maesleugh  Castle  in  Wales  is 
said  to  be  about  100  feet  tall,  16J  feet  in  girth,  and 
one  at  Carton,  Ireland,  in  1903  was  93  feet  high 
and  14  feet  9  inches  in  girth  and  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  planted  in  the  country. 

On  the  continent  of  Europe  the  Cedar  of  Lebanon 
is  much  less  plentiful  than  in  England  owing  largely 
to  a  less  congenial  climate.  The  tallest  is  said  to 
be  on  the  grounds  of  Madame  Chauvet  at  Beaulieu, 
near  Geneva.  It  is  about  102  feet  by  16  feet  with  a 
spread  of  102  feet.  Many  incorrect  statements 
have  been  made  as  to  the  date  of  the  Cedar's  intro- 
86 


THE    CEDAR    OF    LEBANON 

duction  to  France  but  it  is  now  pretty  well  accepted 
that  it  was  in  1735,  by  seed  carried  from  England  by 
Bernard  de  Jussieu,  and  that  the  historic  tree  in 
the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  Paris,  is  of  this  origin  and 
was  planted  in  1736.  From  this  seed  was  also  de- 
rived the  tree  at  Beaulieu,  and  another  at  Montigny 
which  is  considered  to  be  the  finest  in  all  France  and 
about  26!  feet  in  girth  of  trunk  6  feet  from  the 
ground. 

In  this  country,  except  in  California,  the  Cedar  of 
Lebanon  is  rarely  seen,  and  no  specimens  exist  com- 
parable with  those  in  England.  In  the  New  England 
States  the  typical  form  is  not  hardy  and  the  winter  of 
19 1 7- 1 8  played  havoc  with  the  odd  trees  which  have 
existed  with  a  struggle  for  a  number  of  years.  For 
that  matter  it  did  the  same  with  the  Atlas  Cedar 
which  is  the  more  hardy  of  the  two.  In  the  most  in- 
teresting "Memorials  of  John  Bartram  and  Humph- 
ry Marshall"  by  William  Darlington,  published  in 
1849,  on  page  67  is  printed  a  letter  to  John  Bartram 
from  Peter  Collinson,  dated  from  London  on  Febru- 
ary 12,  1735,  in  which  the  following  statement  oc- 
curs: "The  Lebanon  cone,  with  a  knife  carefully 
pick  out  the  seeds;  sow  in  a  box,  put  large  holes  in 
the  bottom  and  cover  with  shells,  in  sandy  light 
mould.  Let  it  only  have  the  morning  sun."  Whether 
Bartram  succeeded  in  raising  plants  and  if  so  what 
87 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

became  of  them  is  not  ascertainable.  In  reports  of 
his  historic  garden  no  mention  is  made  of  the  Cedar 
of  Lebanon. 

Some  1,400  miles  from  the  Cedar  forests  of  Asia 
Minor  and  separated  by  the  whole  breadth  of  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  grows  the  Atlas  Cedar  (Cedrus 
atlantica) .  This  forms  the  prevalent  arboreous  vege- 
tation throughout  the  eastern  province  of  Constan- 
tine  which  borders  on  Tunis.  It  also  abounds  on  the 
eastern  Atlas  ranges  according  to  Hooker.  Henry,  a 
more  recent  visitor,  states  that  "in  Algeria  this  Cedar 
forms  a  considerable  number  of  isolated  forests,  none 
of  them  of  great  extent,  at  altitudes  between  4,000 
and  6,900  feet."  Likewise  it  grows  on  the  mountains 
in  Morocco,  but  its  distribution  there  is  still  not 
properly  known  though  it  was  in  this  country  that 
this  Atlas  Cedar  was  first  discovered.  Philip  Barker 
Webb  visited  Tangiers  and  Tetuan  in  the  spring  of 
1827,  and  from  a  native  obtained  branches  of  a 
Cedar  which  had  been  collected  on  the  impenetrable 
mountains  of  the  province  of  El  Rif  where  there  were 
said  to  be  vast  forests.  Webb's  specimens  are  pre- 
served in  the  museum  of  the  city  of  Florence,  Italy. 

The  Atlas  Cedar  differs  from  that  of  Lebanon  in 
having  a  perfectly  erect,  rigid  leader,  straight  stiff 
ends  to  the  branches,  all  which  in  the  Lebanon  Cedar 
droop   more  or  less,   shorter  leaves   and   a  smaller 


THE     CEDAR    OF     LEBANON 

cone.  It  is  also  more  easy  to  transplant,  and  en- 
dures exposure  and  bad  soil  better  than  the  Lebanon. 
In  this  country  it  is  generally  considered  to  be  the 
hardiest  of  the  true  Cedars.  The  Atlas  Cedar  also 
grows  faster  than  the  Lebanon.  The  date  of  its 
introduction  into  England  is  not  precisely  known, 
but  the  oldest  recorded  tree  is  one  at  Eastnor  Castle 
and  was  raised  in  1845  from  cones  gathered  by  Lord 
Somers  at  Teniet-el-Gaad.  In  1906  this  tree  was 
77  feet  tall  and  8  feet  1  inch  in  girth  of  trunk.  At 
Linton  Park,  Kent,  there  is  a  tree  80  feet  tall  (in 
1902)  and  very  glaucous.  In  Ireland  are  even  taller 
trees;  one  at  Fota,  also  of  the  glaucous  variety  and 
planted  in  1850,  was  83  feet  tall  and  7  feet  7  inches  in 
girth  in  1904.  At  Carton,  the  seat  of  the  Duke  of 
Lienster,  is  a  reputed  Atlas  Cedar  which  in  1903  was 
80  feet  high  by  9  feet  in  girth  of  trunk.  In  the  south 
of  France  and  northern  Italy  the  Atlas  Cedar  grows 
faster  than  in  England.  In  the  public  garden  at 
Aix  au  Savoie  there  is  a  grove,  planted  in  1862,  with 
trees  from  90  to  95  feet  tall.  There  are  varieties  such 
as  glauca,  pyramidalis,  columnaris,  and  fastigiata 
which  are  sufficiently  described  by  the  names  they 
bear. 

On  the  principal  watershed  of  the  southern  ranges 
in  the  island  of  Cyprus  grows  a  third  species  of  Cedar 
(C.  brevijolia).     This  was  discovered  in  1879,  by  Sir 
89 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Samuel  Baker.  Since  then  it  has  been  found  by 
other  travellers  in  Cyprus  and,  to-day,  it  is  known 
to  occupy  about  500  acres  of  forest  mixed  with 
Pines  and  broad-leaf  evergreen  trees.  All  the  Cyprus 
Cedars  discovered  are  comparatively  young  and 
small,  the  largest  measured  being  about  60  feet  tall 
and  1 1  feet  6  inches  in  girth  of  trunk.  This  Cedar 
has  a  slightly  drooping  leading-shoot  and  the  ends 
of  the  branches  are  pendent  as  in  the  Cedar  of 
Lebanon  but  the  leaves  are  quite  short  and  the  cones 
are  smaller  than  those  of  the  Atlas  Cedar.  Seeds 
were  sent  to  Kew  from  Cyprus  in  1881,  but  the 
trees  have  grown  slowly.  It  is  unknown  in  this 
country  but  in  all  probability  would  thrive  in  parts 
of  California. 

Eastward  from  Mt.  Lebanon  some  1,400  miles  are 
the  Deodar  Cedar  forests  of  Afghanistan  which 
extend  continuously  eastward  on  the  Himalayas  al- 
most to  the  confines  of  Nepal.  This  Cedar  (C. 
deodar  a)  is  in  India  exclusively  a  western  tree; 
it  begins  where  the  influence  of  the  monsoon  is 
much  diminished,  that  is  where  the  climate  begins 
to  approximate  that  of  the  Levant.  Its  altitudinal 
range  is  between  3,500  and  10,000  feet  and  from 
6,000  to  8,000  feet,  and  though  it  grows  gregari- 
ously it  never  forms  pure  forests.  The  leading- 
shoots  and  the  ends  of  the  branches  are  more  pendu- 
90 


THE    CEDAR    OF    LEBANON 

lous  and  the  leaves  longer  than  those  of  the  Cedar 
of  Lebanon;  the  cones  are  the  same  size,  but  the 
cone-scales  and  seeds  are  of  the  same  form  as  those 
of  the  Atlas  Cedar. 

Seeds  of  the  Deodar  were  first  sent  to  Great  Britain 
by  the  Hon.  Leslie  Melville  in  183 1,  and  sown  at  Mel- 
ville in  Fifeshire,  at  Dropmore,  and  elsewhere.  In 
1 84 1  it  was  introduced  in  quantity.  The  finest  trees 
recorded  are  at  Bicton  where  one  in  1902  measured 
80  feet  tall  and  1 1  feet  8  inches  in  girth  and  another 
90  feet  tall  and  9  feet  1  inch  in  girth  of  trunk.  There 
are  many  others  in  England  more  than  80  feet  tall. 
In  Ireland  are  specimens  approximately  as  fine;  but 
in  Scotland,  where  it  is  only  hardy  in  the  warmer 
parts  of  the  country,  the  tallest  recorded  are  less  than 
60  feet.  There  are  varieties  known  by  such  descrip- 
tive names  as  albo-spica,  crassifolia,  fastigiata,  nivea, 
robusta,  verticillata,  and  viridis. 

These  four  Cedars,  differing  but  slightly  one  from 
another  yet  occupying  five  distinct  geographical 
areas,  present  a  most  interesting  problem  in  plant 
distribution.  Northern  Syria  and  Asia  Minor  form 
one  botanical  province  so  that  the  Lebanon  groves, 
though  so  widely  disconnected  from  the  Taurus 
forests,  can  be  regarded  in  no  other  light  than  as 
outlying  members  of  the  latter.  Sir  Joseph  Hooker 
in  the  paper  already  referred  to  suggests  that  in  pre- 
9i 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

historic  times  the  Cedar  forests  occupied  much  lower 
levels  and  were  continuous.  He  adduces  geological 
evidence  to  prove  that  vast  changes  took  place  in 
the  Mediterranean  basin  during  Tertiary  times,  and 
shows  that  in  the  warm  period  which  followed  the 
glacial  epoch  the  vegetation  of  the  lower  levels 
was  forced  to  seek  colder  situations  and  so  migrated 
northward  and  up  the  mountains.  This  would 
bring  about  the  geographical  isolations  of  the  Cedar 
and  the  differences  now  apparent  between  the  four 
species  are  mere  variations  fixed  and  accentuated 
through  time. 

Now  the  Cedars  though  not  so  ancient  as  the 
Ginkgo  are  an  old  type  of  tree-life.  Fossil  remains 
of  the  ancestors  of  the  present  race  have  been  found 
in  the  Lower  Greensand  of  England  around  Maid- 
stone and  Folkestone  in  Kent,  and  at  Shanklin  in 
the  Isle  of  Wight.  This  Lower  Greensand  underlies 
Chalk  and  belongs  to  the  Cretaceous  or  Chalk  Age,  a 
geological  era  remarkably  prolific  in  animal  life.  In 
this  period  birds  very  probably  first  appeared,  the 
Terrible  Lizards  of  the  Reptilian  Age  disappeared, 
but  a  race  of  extraordinary,  serpent-like  Reptiles 
(Mosasaurus)  flourished.  These  were  long,  snake- 
like animals  with  pointed  teeth,  and  were  furnished 
with  swimming  paddles  and  a  long  and  powerful  tail. 
One  species  of  these  astonishing  creatures  of  which 
92 


THE    CEDAR    OF    LEBANON 

fossil  remains  have  been  unearthed  in  this  country 
is  estimated  to  have  been  from  75  to  80  feet  in 
length !  The  mammals  of  this  epoch  were  apparently 
Marsupials  like  those  of  Australia  to-day.  But  the 
important  fact  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  Cedars  is 
that  Cretaceous  rocks  agreeing  in  their  lithological 
and  palaeontological  facies  occur  in  all  the  Alpine 
ranges  from  Provence  to  Dalmatia,  in  the  Atlas 
Mountains,  in  Syria,  Palestine,  Arabia,  Persia,  the 
Caucasus,  and  the  western  Himalayas.  The  Libyan 
Desert  of  northern  Africa  is  also  floored  by  Cretaceous 
rocks  though  of  a  different  lithological  character 
but  apparently  of  the  same  age. 

In  the  Tertiary  period  which  succeeded  the  Cre- 
taceous epoch,  Cedar  forests  composed  of  one 
species  were  doubtless  more  or  less  continuous  on  the 
mountain  ranges  throughout  the  Mediterranean 
basin  and  Asia  Minor  to  the  western  Himalayas. 
Owing  to  the  tremendous  depressions  and  elevations 
for  which  this  epoch  is  remarkable  the  continuity 
was  broken.  During  the  era  of  glaciation  which 
ushered  in  the  close  of  the  Tertiary  Age  the  Cedars 
and  all  other  vegetation  were  forced  to  lower  levels. 
When  perpetual  snows  covered  the  great  axis  of 
Lebanon  and  fed  glaciers  which  rolled  4,000  feet  down 
its  valleys  the  climate  of  Syria  must  have  been  many 
degrees  colder  than  now;  the  position  of  the  Cedars 
93 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

fully  4,000  feet  lower,  and  the  atmosphere  much  more 
humid.  At  the  close  of  the  Glacial  period  the  in- 
creased temperatures  forced  the  Cedars  and  other 
cool-temperate  vegetation  to  seek  colder  localities 
and  so  they  migrated  up  the  mountain  slopes  and 
northward.  Those  that  failed  to  do  so  would  be 
killed,  and  this  would  lead  to  their  present-day  occu- 
pation of  isolated  sites.  On  the  mountains  of  Cy- 
prus and  on  Lebanon,  and  to  a  less  extent  also  on  the 
Atlas  Mountains  of  northern  Africa  and  on  the  Taurus 
ranges  of  Asia  Minor,  the  Cedar  groves  and  forests 
are  merely  surviving  remnants  of  prehistoric  forests 
of  enormous  magnitude. 

In  closing  this  sketch  of  the  Cedars,  their  history 
and  geographical  distribution,  a  few  brief  remarks 
on  the  character  and  usefulness  of  their  wood  seem 
appropriate.  It  is  fragrant,  easily  worked,  and  of 
lasting  quality.  That  of  the  Deodar  is  the  most  im- 
portant of  any  timber  in  northwestern  India.  It  is 
used  in  quantity  for  railway-ties,  for  bridge-building, 
for  general  construction  work;  also  for  roofing 
shingles.  That  of  the  Atlas  Cedar  also  is  valuable 
and  especially  in  the  ground.  The  Cedar  of  Lebanon 
in  England  grows  rapidly  and  its  wood  is  of  poor 
quality,  but  that  of  the  trees  on  Lebanon  is  excellent. 
The  subject  has  been  much  debated,  but  the  consen- 
sus of  opinion  now  is  that  the  wood  used  in  building 
94 


THE     CEDAR    OF     LEBANON 

Solomon's  temple  and  by  Nebuchadnezzar  was  in  all 
probability  that  of  the  Cedar  of  Lebanon.  It  is  a 
known  fact  that  the  character  and  quality  of  timber 
are  strangely  influenced  by  soil  and  climate.  The 
Old  Testament  references  afford  some  idea  of  the 
enormous  consumption  of  these  noble  forest  trees. 
If  to  these,  and  the  like  demands  by  the  Tyrians  and 
others,  we  add  the  wanton  destruction  by  invading 
armies  we  need  not  wonder  at  the  diminished  glories 
of  Lebanon  but  rather  be  surprised  that  any  trees 
remain. 


95 


CHAPTER  VI  I 
THE  STORY  OF  THE  COMMON  YEW 


CHAPTER    VI  I 
THE    STORY   OF  THE  COMMON    YEW 

THE  discovery  of  gunpowder  with  the  result- 
ant development  of  arms  of  precision  may 
at  first  sight  appear  to  have  little  to  do  with 
the  planting  of  trees  in  general  and  with  the  Yew  in 
particular.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  connection  is 
close.  For  centuries  long  prior  to  the  introduction 
and  general  use  of  gunpowder  the  peoples  of  the 
world  used  bows  and  arrows,  and  in  temperate  re- 
gions where  grows  the  Yew  the  best  bows  were  made 
of  the  wood  of  this  tree.  Certain  simple  people  like 
the  Ainos  of  Hokkaido  and  Saghalien  still  use  the  bow 
in  the  chase  but  in  general  archery  is  now  regarded  as 
a  pastime.  It  is  beloved  by  the  Japanese,  Koreans, 
and  Chinese;  in  the  West  associations  and  clubs  have 
been  founded  to  preserve  this  ancient  sport  and  in 
Great  Britain  it  is  a  favourite  with  women. 

But  if  archery  be  now  regarded  as  merely  a  healthy 

pastime  its  role  in  the  grim  affairs  of  human  history 

has  been  among  the  greatest.     With   the  story  of 

William  Tell  every  schoolboy  of  the  West  is  familiar, 

99 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

and  the  appreciation  of  the  skill  of  this  Swiss  archer 
has  lost  nothing  through  lapse  of  time,  for,  whether 
fact  or  fiction,  William  Tell  typifies  sturdy  patriot- 
ism's stand  against  tyranny  and  aggression.  The 
long-bow  and  the  cross-bow  are  famous  in  history. 
Were  not  the  battles  of  Crecy,  Poictiers,  and  Agin- 
court  won  by  the  English  mainly  with  the  long-bow 
in  the  hands  of  archers  of  wondrous  skill?  Three 
English  kings  met  their  deaths  from  the  yew-bow,  and 
it  was  the  most  popular  weapon  through  the  inter- 
necine Wars  of  the  Roses. 

Indeed,  in  both  warfare  and  the  chase  the  bow 
was  held  in  exalted  estimation  long  after  the  inven- 
tion of  gunpowder  had  paved  the  way  to  a  complete 
change  in  the  arms  of  warfare.  In  the  early  days  of 
English  history  there  were  in  force  special  enactments 
for  the  planting  and  protection  of  the  Yew-trees. 
As  far  back  as  the  13th  century  every  person  not 
having  a  greater  revenue  than  one  hundred  pence 
was  obligated  to  have  in  his  possession  a  bow  and 
arrows,  and  all  such  as  had  no  possessions  but  could 
afford  to  purchase  arms  were  commanded  to  have  a 
bow  with  sharp  arrows  if  they  dwelt  without  the 
royal  forests.  Since  bows  were  of  so  great  value  in 
warfare  it  is  not  strange  that  English  kings  should 
have  made  strenuous  efforts  to  plant  and  protect 
Yew  trees,  and  to  encourage  the  use  of  bows  by  various 
100 


THE     COMMON     YEW 

edicts  and  Acts  of  Parliament  which  also  regulated 
their  price,  making  provision  for  their  importation 
and  forbidding  their  exportation.  From  the  time 
of  Edward  IV  to  quite  a  late  period  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  these  Acts  continued  in  force,  being 
renewed  by  each  successive  sovereign,  and  it  was 
not  until  the  latter  reign,  when  firearms  came  into 
more  general  use,  that  less  consideration  was  paid 
to  the  long-bow.  A  petition  from  the  Commons  to 
Edward  IV  states  that  "such  bow-stafTes  as  be 
brought  within  this  Realm,  be  set  now  to  outrage- 
ous prises,"  and  prays  that  "every  tun-tight  of 
merchandise  as  shall  be  conveyed  in  every  Carik, 
Calec,  or  shipp,  iiii  bowestaffes  be  brought,  upon 
pain  of  forfeiture  to  your  Highness,  for  lacke  of 
bringing  every  such  bowestaff  vi-s.  viii-d."  The 
last  statute  issued  with  regard  to  the  use  of  bows  is 
the  13th  Elizabeth  (cap.  XIV)  which  orders  that 
bow-staves  shall  be  imported  into  England  from  the 
Hanse  towns  and  other  places.  Through  Saxon- 
Norman-Plantagenet  to  late  Tudor  times  the  yew- 
bow  played  a  famous  part  in  the  national  history  of 
England,  and  no  English  tree  has  gathered  around 
itself  so  much  historic,  poetic,  and  legendary  lore 
as  the  Yew. 

The  association  of  the  Yew-tree  with  early  English 
history   is   varied   and   important.     Venerable  trees 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

still  mark  the  spots  where  great  events  have  taken 
place,  and  many  are  associated  with  the  names  of 
historic  personages.  The  Ankerwyke  Yew  at  Staines 
witnessed  the  conference  between  King  John  and 
the  English  Barons  in  121 5,  and  in  sight  of  this  tree 
the  Magna  Charta  was  signed.  This  Yew  is  30! 
feet  in  girth  of  trunk  at  three  feet  from  the  ground 
and  is  probably  more  than  a  thousand  years  old. 
Under  the  Loudon  Yew  in  Ayrshire  it  is  said  that 
Bruce  bestowed  the  ancient  castle  and  estate  on  the 
Loudon  family,  and  on  the  same  spot  some  centuries 
afterward  John,  Earl  of  Loudon,  signed  the  Act 
of  Union  between  England  and  Scotland. 

Up  and  down  the  length  of  England  are  ancient 
churchyards  famed  for  their  magnificent  old  Yew 
trees.  The  reason  for  the  association  of  the  Yew 
with  churchyards  has  been  much  debated,  and  in  all 
probability  it  is  several-fold.  It  is  by  no  means 
confined  to  England  but  is  a  custom  common  in 
Ireland,  and  also  in  Normandy,  Germany,  and  else- 
where on  the  continent  of  Europe.  That  it  is  a 
very  old  one  is  proved  by  a  statement  of  Giraldus 
Cambrensis,  who  visited  Ireland  in  1184,  and  ob- 
served the  tree  in  cemeteries  and  holy  places.  It 
has  been  stated  that  "the  Yew  was  a  funeral  tree, 
the  companion  of  the  grave,  among  the  Celtic 
tribes,"  but  there  is  no  reliable  evidence  of  the  abo- 


1  Vl-K    \l      ENG1  [SH     VI  W 
GROWING     A  I     ASHHURS  I  .     KENT,     I  I 


''\J@9H|^HH 

-      ■    4fe 

jg 

CLIPPED     ENGLISH    YEW    IN     AN     AMERICAN     GARDEN 


AN   UNUSUAL  PIECE  OF  TOPIARY,   AT  CATONSVILLE,   NEAR  BALTI 
MORE,     MD. 


THE    COMMON     YEW 

riginal  tribes  or  the  Druids  holding  the  Yew  in  any 
esteem.  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  surmised, 
and  with  some  show  of  truth,  that  it  was  used  by  the 
early  Roman  invaders  of  Britain  in  their  funeral  rites 
in  lieu  of  their  accustomed  Cypress  and  Pine,  and  it 
was  thus  associated  with  the  passage  of  the  soul  to 
its  new  abode.  Certain  it  is  that  from  very  early 
times  it  has  been  used  at  funerals  for  the  practice  is 
mentioned  by  many  early  English  writers.  Evelyn 
in  his  " Sylva"  says  "The  best  reason  that  can  be 
given  why  the  Yew  was  planted  in  churchyards  is 
that  branches  of  it  were  often  carried  in  procession 
on  Palm  Sunday  instead  of  Palms."  As  a  confirma- 
tion of  this  it  is  said  that  the  Yew  trees  in  the  church- 
yards of  Kent  are  to  this  day  called  Palms,  as  also  in 
Ireland,  where  it  is  still  the  custom  for  the  peasant- 
ry to  wear  in  their  hats  or  buttonholes  from  Palm  Sun- 
day until  Easter-day  sprigs  of  yew,  and  where  the 
branches  are  carried  over  the  dead  by  mourners  and 
thrown  beneath  the  coffin  into  the  grave.  The  Yew 
being  evergreen  was  in  old  times  considered  typical 
of  the  immortality  of  man.  Having  in  mind  prim- 
itive man's  reverence  for  trees  there  is  good  reason 
to  believe  that  the  Yew  tree  had  a  part  in  the  Pagan 
religion  of  our  remote  ancestors  and  that  Christian 
monks  later  engrafted  it  on  Christianity.  While 
admitting  this  and  other  probable  causes,  a  more 
103 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

cogent  reason  for  planting  Yew  trees  in  churchyards 
was  the  necessity  for  providing  a  supply  of  bow- 
staves  for  bow-men. 

In  English  history  we  find  many  enactments  both 
for  planting  and  protecting  Yew  trees.  Thus  there 
was  ordered  in  the  reign  of  Richard  III,  1483,  a 
general  planting  of  these  trees  for  the  use  of  arch- 
ers. And  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  it  was  en- 
joined that  Yew  trees  should  be  planted  to  insure 
their  cultivation  and  protection  and  partly  to  secure 
their  leaves  from  doing  injury  to  cattle.  With  all 
the  efforts  the  supply  was  not  equal  to  the  wants  of 
the  villagers,  and  there  was  an  enactment  put  in 
force  providing  for  a  certain  number  of  bow-staves 
to  be  imported  with  every  butt  of  wine  from  Venice 
and  elsewhere.  In  Italy,  Normandy,  and  Picardy 
and  other  parts  of  Europe  similar  laws  were  in  force. 
Without  pursuing  this  further,  certain  it  is  that,  no 
matter  what  caused  their  planting,  venerable  Yew 
trees  are  the  pride  and  glory  of  many  old  church- 
yards in  western  Europe. 

In  ornamental  gardening  the  English  Yew  was 
employed  as  early  as  the  Tudor  times  to  form  hedges, 
and  was  pleached  and  clipped  into  the  forms  of 
grotesque  beasts,  birds,  cones,  pyramids,  and  other 
fantastic  shapes.  During  the  17th  century  the  taste 
for  this  kind  of  art  increased  and  in  the  time  of  Wil- 
104 


THE     COMMON     YEW 

liam  and  Mary  reached  its  highest  point.  Even 
to-day  in  Europe  there  are  many  old  places  and  in 
this  country  at  least  one,  the  Hunnewell  garden, 
Wellesley,  Mass.,  famous  for  this  topiary  art,  but  in 
general  it  has  rightly  fallen  into  disrepute.  Evelyn 
claims  the  credit  of  introducing  the  Yew  into  fashion 
for  this  work.  Quite  early  topiary  had  its  op- 
ponents. Lord  Bacon  in  the  17th  century  con- 
demned the  practice.  "  I  for  my  part,"  he  says  in 
his  "Essays,"  "do  not  like  images  cut  out  in  Junipers 
and  other  garden  stuff;  they  be  for  children."  But 
it  was  mainly  due  to  the  ridicule  thrown  upon  the 
practice  by  Addison  and  Pope  in  the  18th  century 
that  it  fell  into  disuse.  Pope,  deriding  the  fashion, 
says:  "An  eminent  town  gardener  has  arrived  at  such 
perfection  that  he  cuts  family  pieces  of  men,  women, 
or  children  in  trees.  Adam  and  Eve  in  Yew;  Adam 
a  little  shattered  by  the  fall  of  the  Tree  of  Knowledge 
in  the  great  storm;  Eve  and  the  serpent  very  flourish- 
ing. St.  George  in  Box,  his  arm  scarce  long  enough 
but  will  be  in  a  condition  to  stick  the  dragon  by  next 
April;  a  green  dragon  of  the  same  with  a  tail  of 
Ground-ivy  for  the  present.  (N.  B. — These  two  not 
to  be  sold  separately.)  Divers  eminent  modern 
poets  in  Bays  somewhat  blighted  to  be  disposed  of  a 
pennyworth.  A  quickset  hog,  shot  up  into  a  porcu- 
pine by  its  being  forgot  a  week  in  rainy  weather." 
105 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Very  many  Yew  hedges  and  clipped  trees  were 
swept  away  in  the  middle  of  the  18th  century  by  the 
celebrated  landscape  gardener,  "Capability"  Brown. 
He  dealt  ruthlessly  with  all  clipped  hedges  and 
topiary  work,  but  there  appears  to  have  been  a  nat- 
ural rebound  in  the  public  mind  with  regard  to  Yew 
hedges  after  the  attacks  of  Addison  and  Pope  and  the 
wholesale  manner  in  which  they  were  swept  away  to 
make  room  for  Brown's  new  style  of  landscape  garden- 
ing. The  Yew  is  indeed  one  of  the  very  best  hedge 
plants  in  temperate  lands.  It  has  been  much  used  for 
this  purpose  in  England  where  many  famous  Yew 
hedges  from  i  o  to  20  feet  high  and  9  to  1 2  feet  through 
may  be  seen.  A  Yew  hedge  is  indeed  an  ornamental 
adjunct  to  the  flower  garden  and  pleasure  grounds 
for  which  it  not  only  forms  an  efficient  screen  but 
often  produces  a  picturesque  effect. 

Though  its  geological  antiquity  does  not  compare 
with  that  of  the  Ginkgo  it  is  probably  as  ancient  as 
the  Cedars.  In  early  Tertiary  times,  when  the  ele- 
phant and  rhinoceros  roamed  through  Britain, 
Greenland,  and  the  now  Arctic  regions  of  this  con- 
tinent, the  Yew  formed  a  common  ingredient  of 
the  forests  of  those  lands.  To-day  the  Yew  is  found 
widespread  in  the  temperate  regions  of  the  Northern 
Hemisphere.  The  family  likeness  everywhere  is  very 
strong,  so  strong  in  fact  that  many  botanists  con- 
106 


THE    COMMON     YEW 

sider  all  to  belong  to  one  species.  Under  cultivation, 
however,  they  behave  differently,  especially  in  de- 
grees of  hardiness,  and  there  are  other  and  more 
subtle  points  of  difference  which  merit  recognition. 
The  Arnold  Arboretum  recognizes  eight  species  with 
many  varieties  and  forms  and,  from  the  garden  view- 
point at  any  rate,  this  classification  is  the  most  satis- 
factory. 

In  this  continent  are  found  four  species — the 
Canadian  Yew  (Taxus  canadensis)  which  is  common 
in  swampy  woods  and  thickets  from  Newfoundland 
and  Nova  Scotia,  through  Canada  to  the  northern 
shores  of  Lake  Superior  and  to  Lake  Winnipeg,  and 
southward  to  Minnesota  in  the  west  and  to  New  Jersey 
in  the  east;  the  Western  Yew  (T.  brevijolia)  is  wide- 
spread, but  not  common,  from  the  Rocky  Mountains 
in  Montana  to  the  Pacific,  from  Queen  Charlotte's  Is- 
land in  the  north  to  the  Bay  of  Monterey  in  California, 
but  is  abundant  on  the  Selkirk  Mountains  in  British 
Columbia  up  to  4,000  feet  altitude,  and  on  the  western 
slopes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  up  to  8,000  feet  altitude; 
the  Mexican  Yew  (7.  globosa),  a  little-known  species 
which  grows  on  the  mountains  of  south  Mexico; 
and  the  Florida  Yew  (7\  floridana),  native  of  a  re- 
stricted area  extending  some  thirty  miles  along  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  Apalachicola  River  in  western 
Florida.  In  Asia  grow  four  species — the  Japanese 
107 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Yew  (7\  cuspidata),  which  is  found  from  Japanese 
Saghalien  southward  through  Hokkaido,  Hondo,  and 
Shikoku  of  Japan  proper,  and  on  the  mainland  from 
the  Amur  Valley  south  to  the  extreme  limit  of 
Korea;  the  Chinese  Yew  (7\  chinensis)  is  scattered 
through  central  and  western  China  and  also  on  the 
mountains  of  Formosa;  the  Himalayan  Yew  (7\ 
Wallichiana),  which  is  found  between  6,000  and 
11,000  feet  on  the  Himalayas  from  Afghanistan  and 
Kashmir  to  Assam,  on  the  Khasia  Hills,  and  through 
Upper  Burmah  and  Malaya  to  Sumatra  and  the 
Philippine  Islands;  the  European  Yew  (7\  baccata), 
which  grows  on  the  Cilician  Taurus  in  Asia  Minor, 
in  Armenia,  the  Caucasus,  and  northern  Persia.  In 
Europe' this  species  is  more  or  less  common  in  all 
mountainous  and  hilly  districts  from  Lat.  630  10'  N. 
in  Sweden  and  Norway,  in  Esthonia,  and  through 
Great  Britain  from  Aberdeen  in  Scotland  south, 
and  from  Donegal  in  Ireland  south  to  the  Medi- 
terranean; also  it  grows  in  northern  Africa,  and  on 
the  Atlas  Mountains  in  Algeria. 

The  Mexican  and  Florida  Yews  have  never  been 
introduced  into  cultivation,  and  as  far  as  I  can  dis- 
cover this  is  also  true  of  the  Himalayan  Yew.  The 
Canadian  Yew  is  grown  to  some  extent  in  New  Eng- 
land gardens  but,  in  the  open,  browns  badly  in  winter, 
and  except  as  a  ground  cover  in  shady,  moist  places 
108 


THE     COMMON     Y E  W 

has  little  value.  It  is  said  to  have  been  introduced 
into  England  in  1800  but  has  never  obtained  a  place 
in  English  gardens.  The  Western  Yew  is  not  culti- 
vated in  eastern  North  America  and  I  do  not  know 
that  it  is  on  the  Pacific  Slope.  It  was  sent  to  England 
by  William  Lobb  in  1854,  but  is  still  a  very  rare  plant 
in  gardens.  The  Chinese  Yew  was  introduced  by 
myself  to  the  Arnold  Arboretum  in  1908,  and  has 
been  distributed,  but  in  New  England  it  is  tender  and 
of  no  value  for  gardens.  In  California  it  will  prob- 
ably thrive  and  be  a  useful  ornamental  tree.  The 
same  remark  holds  good  for  favoured  areas  in  the 
British  Isles.  At  its  best  it  is  a  fine  tree  50  feet 
tall  and  15  feet  in  girth  of  trunk,  with  large  spread- 
ing branches. 

In  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  only  the  Common 
Yew  and  its  numerous  varieties  are  grown  but  in 
this  country  both  these  and  the  Japanese  Yew  are 
available,  and  for  gardens  north  of  Washington,  D.  C, 
the  latter  is  the  Yew  par  excellence.  At  Haddonfield, 
New  Jersey,  grow  two  famous  trees  of  the  Common 
Yew  which  were  planted  in  171 3  by  Elizabeth  Had- 
don  Estaugh,  a  Quakeress,  whose  history  is  partly 
given  in  Longfellow's  poem  "Elizabeth."  The  cir- 
cumference of  each  tree-trunk  is  about  12J-  feet. 
These  have  several  times  suffered  from  winter  storms. 
It  is  true  that  around  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and 

IOQ 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Baltimore,  on  Long  Island,  and  along  the  Hudson 
River,  there  are  large  old  specimens  of  the  English 
Yew,  but  in  severe  winters  they  brown  badly.  In 
New  England  this  happens  nearly  every  winter  and 
this  Yew — except  a  variety  of  which  mention  will  be 
made  later — cannot  be  recommended  for  gardens. 
In  Virginia  there  are  fine  old  trees  which  must  have 
been  introduced  in  the  18th  century,  if  not  earlier;  in 
California,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  San  Francisco, 
the  English  Yew  is  a  success. 

The  Japanese  Yew  was  introduced  into  America 
in  1862  by  Dr.  George  R.  Hall  who  gave  it  to  Parsons 
and  Company,  nurserymen,  Flushing,  N.  Y.  It  ap- 
pears to  have  made  slow  headway  for  many  years, 
but  it  is  now  becoming  well  known  and  its  merits  as  the 
hardiest  of  all  Yews  properly  appreciated.  It  came 
through  the  winters  of  19 17-18  and  1919-20  un- 
scathed in  the  Arnold  Arboretum,  and  it  is  known 
to  be  hardy  as  far  north  as  central  New  Hampshire, 
and  also  in  Minneapolis,  Minn.  On  Long  Island 
there  are  a  number  of  fine  specimens,  so  also  are 
there  in  the  Hunnewell  Pinetum,  Wellesley,  Mass., 
and  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum.  But  undoubtedly  the 
largest  by  far  in  America  is  on  the  estate  of  the  late 
Dr.  George  R.  Hall,  Bristol,  R.  I.,  which  is  22  feet 
high  and  120  feet  around,  but,  unfortunately,  in  poor 
health. 


JAPANESE     YEW    I  N    ITS    N  ATI  VI      !  A  N  l> 
ATTAINS    V  HEIGHT  Ol     VBOl    I    l6o  FT.    VND  A  GIRTH  Ol     \Hm    I    lull. 


dwarf   spreading    habit   OF    Taxus  cuspidata  var.  nana 


JAPANESE    YEW 

AS   it   is   generally  seen   in   gardens 
(Taxus  cuspid ata) 


THE    COMMON     YEW 

In  Japan  Taxus  cuspidata  is  found  scattered 
through  woods  and  over  the  countryside  from  the 
south  to  the  extreme  north,  but  is  nowhere  common. 
I  saw  more  of  it  in  Hokkaido  than  anywhere  else 
but  even  there  it  is  now  rare.  Its  wood  is  useful 
for  a  variety  of  purposes  and  lasts  especially  well 
underground.  Of  late  it  has  been  used  in  Japan  as 
pencil-wood.  On  the  central  slopes  of  the  Diamond 
Mountains  in  central  Korea  grow  more  trees  and 
finer  specimens  than  I  have  seen  elsewhere.  Scat- 
tered through  woods  of  Spruce,  Fir,  Oak,  Birch,  and 
other  broad-leaf  trees  are  hundreds  of  specimens — 
trees  from  40  to  60  feet  tall,  and  from  6  to  10  feet  in 
girth,  with  large,  spreading  branches  forming  hand- 
some crowns.  On  the  Korean  island  of  Quelpaert, 
in  pure  woods  of  Hornbeam,  I  found  the  Japanese 
Yew  in  bush  form  to  be  a  common  undergrowth. 
In  Japanese  gardens  it  is  a  favourite  as  a  low,  clipped 
bush,  and  it  is  also  used  as  a  hedge-plant,  but  not 
extensively.  It  was  one  of  those  garden  forms  {nana) 
that  was  first  introduced  into  this  country  and  this 
has  been  propagated  largely  by  cuttings.  It  is  a 
low,  wide-spreading  shrub  with  short  leaves.  There 
is  also  another  form  (densa)  which  is  a  low,  compact 
shrub.  When  seedlings  from  these  dwarf  forms  are 
raised  they  revert  to  the  tree  type.  The  first  tree- 
forms  of  this  Yew  raised  in  this  country  were  from 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

seeds  collected  in  Japan  by  Professor  Sargent  in 
1892,  and  the  tallest  of  these  in  the  Arnold  Arbor- 
etum is  now  8  feet  high.  Quite  recently  an  erect 
form  (Hicksii)  has  appeared  in  the  nurseries  of  I. 
Hicks  &  Son,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.  As  time  goes 
on,  and  the  Japanese  Yew  is  largely  raised  from 
seeds,  other  forms  will  appear  and  there  is  little  doubt 
that  it  will  ultimately  produce  as  great  a  variety  as 
the  English  Yew  has  done.  This  is  a  matter  nur- 
serymen should  pay  attention  to. 

The  principal  varieties  of  the  English  Yew  are 
about  a  dozen  in  number,  and  of  these  the  Irish  or 
Florence-court  Yew  (var.  jastigiata)  is  perhaps  the 
most  strikingly  distinct  and  best  known.  A  de- 
tailed account  of  this  Yew  is  reserved  for  the  chapter 
on  upright  trees.  The  Dovaston  Yew  (var.  Dovas- 
tonii)  is  another  well-known  form,  and  a  fine  speci- 
men of  this  grows  on  the  Dana  estate,  Dosoris,  Long 
Island.  This  is  a  tree  or  wide-spreading  shrub  with 
branches  arising  in  whorls  and  becoming  very  pendu- 
lous at  their  extremities.  The  original  tree  was 
planted  as  a  seedling  about  1777  at  Westfelton,  near 
Shrewsbury,  England,  and  is  a  female  tree.  There 
is  a  form  of  this  Yew  {aurea-variegata)  in  which  the 
leaves  are  variegated  with  yellow.  There  is  another 
Weeping  Yew  (var.  pendula)  which  is  a  low,  dense 
shrub  with  no  definite  leader. 
112 


THE     COMMON     YEW 

There  are  several  forms  of  Golden  Yew  and  one 
is  known  to  have  been  growing  in  Staffordshire  in 
1686.  The  best  known  (var.  aurea)  is  a  male,  a  dense 
shrub  or  low  tree  with  narrow  sickle-shaped  leaves 
which  are  variegated  with  yellow.  Another  good 
sort  is  var.  washingtonii,  a  low  dense  shrub  in  which 
the  leaves  on  the  young  shoots  are  golden  yellow. 
Of  low-growing  forms  there  are  several  including 
vars.  hori{ontalis ,  recurvata,  and  procumbens,  suffi- 
ciently distinguished  by  their  names.  But  another 
dwarf  form  which  is  grown  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum 
under  the  name  of  Taxus  baccata  repandens  is  worthy 
of  fuller  mention.  Its  origin  is  unknown  and  it  is 
remarkable  as  being  the  only  form  of  the  English 
Yew  which  is  properly  hardy  although  it,  too,  suf- 
fered slightly  during  the  winter  of  19 17- 18;  it  has 
wide-spreading,  semi-prostrate  branches  and  broad, 
black-green  leaves. 

There  are  many  other  forms  of  the  European  Yew 
differing  more  or  less  from  one  another.  These 
include  the  Glaucous  Yew  (var.  glauca),  the  Yellow- 
fruited  Yew  (var.  jriictii-lideo),  and  several  small- 
leaved  Yews  of  which  var.  adpressa  is  very  distinct. 
This  variety  is  a  large,  spreading  bush  with  densely 
crowded  branchlets  having  remarkably  small,  broad 
leaves  not  more  than  one  quarter  to  one  half  inch 
long.  It  is  a  female,  and  originated  as  a  chance 
113 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

seedling  in  the  nurseries  of  Messrs.  Dickson  at 
Chester,  England,  about  1826,  and  is  sold  under  the 
erroneous  name  of  T.  tardiva.  Of  this  pleasing 
Yew  there  are  varieties  aurea  and  variegata.  Alto- 
gether fifty  or  more  varieties  and  forms  of  the  Euro- 
pean Yew  have  received  names,  and  they  exhibit 
the  widest  possible  range  of  variation  in  form  and 
general  appearance.  I  forbear  mention  of  more 
in  detail,  but  I  do  wish  to  emphasize  the  fact  that 
the  most  distinct  forms  are  of  seedling  origin,  mostly 
chance  finds  in  a  long  period  of  cultivation.  So  if  the 
Japanese  Yew  be  raised  from  seeds  over  a  long  pe- 
riod, and  in  separated  localities,  there  will  beyond 
doubt  arise  just  as  great  a  variety  of  forms  of  it,  and 
these  will  find  a  ready  welcome  in  the  gardens 
of  all  parts  of  this  country  where  the  seasons  are  as 
severe  as  those  in  New  England.  For  the  region 
of  the  Pacific  seaboard  and  other  mild  parts  the  Eng- 
lish Yew  and  its  forms  are  well  suited,  but  for  the 
colder  parts  of  this  country  the  Japanese  Yew  is  the 
only  really  hardy  Yew. 


114 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  HORSE- 
CHESTNUT 


CHAPTER  VI  I  I 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  HORSE- 
CHESTNUT 

IF  A  census  of  opinion  were  taken  as  to  which  is 
the  most  handsome  exotic  flowering  tree  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States  there  is  little 
doubt  in  my  mind  but  that  it  would  be  overwhelm- 
ingly in  favour  of  the  Horsechestnut.  I  n  England  also 
the  same  would  be  true.  For  no  other  tree  is  a  day 
especially  set  apart  in  England  as  is  Chestnut  Sun- 
day for  this  famous  exotic.  According  to  season 
it  is  a  rather  movable  feast  but  is  usually  between 
May  19th  and  May  26th.  From  London  and  its 
suburbs  people  journey  in  thousands  to  bask  in  the 
glory  of  the  avenue  of  Horsechestnut-trees  in  Bushy 
Park  on  the  banks  of  Father  Thames. 

The  width  of  the  avenue  is  170  feet  and  its  length 
about  one  mile.  It  was  planted  by  the  celebrated 
architect,  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  in  1699.  There 
are  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  trees  on  each  side 
and  they  stand  42  feet  apart  in  the  line.  A  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  the  Hampton  Court  Palace  end  of  the 
117 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

avenue  a  round  pond  400  feet  in  diameter,  with  a 
noble  fountain  in  the  centre,  forces  the  Horsechestnut- 
trees  from  line  to  circle  with  great  enhancement  of 
effect.  Some  of  the  larger  trees  have  died  and  are 
replaced  by  young  ones,  but  the  show  of  blossoms  is 
wonderful  year  after  year.  The  largest  trees  are 
fully  100  feet  tall  and  from  10  to  20  feet  in  girth  of 
trunk,  with  handsome  crowns  and  branches  sweeping 
the  ground. 

The  tree  is  so  common  a  feature  of  the  landscape 
of  the  British  Isles  that  a  majority  of  the  people 
take  it  for  granted  that  it  is  a  native  tree.  With 
schoolboys  it  is  a  great  favourite  for  does  it  not 
furnish  the  seeds  used  to  play  the  famous  game  of 
"Conquerors"?  Among  my  earliest  recollections 
is  that  of  a  grove  of  trees  in  an  ecclesiastical  semi- 
nary, and  much  I  used  to  appreciate  a  generous  gift 
of  nuts  from  the  student  priests.  How  carefully 
one  used  to  bore  a  hole  through  them — a  horseshoe 
nail  being  a  favourite  tool — dry  them  afterward, 
and  test  their  strength  in  battles  with  other  boys. 
Some  were  clever  in  hardening  them  by  roasting, 
but,  as  far  as  memory  serves,  mine  always  burst 
when  placed  in  the  oven.  Many  a  mile  do  boys  in 
England  walk  to  gather  the  Horsechestnut  seeds  and 
when  seven  or  eight  years  old  my  proudest  possession 
was  a  long  rope  of  them.  Young  schoolboys  can 
118 


THE     HORSECHESTNUT 

scarcely  be  expected  to  be  interested  in  trees  for  their 
beauty  alone.  Of  fruit  as  something  to  eat  it  is 
quite  a  different  matter,  and  I  know  of  no  other  tree 
that  boys  take  interest  in  unless  to  satisfy  their 
appetite.  Deer  eat  the  nuts  of  the  Horsechestnut 
greedily  but  cattle  leave  them  alone. 

Considering  its  striking  appearance,  its  handsome 
flowers,  and  its  general  popularity,  comparatively 
little  has  been  written  about  the  tree.  No  poet  or 
writer  of  prose  has  immortalized  it  in  the  sense  that 
the  Holly,  Yew,  Weeping  Willow,  not  to  mention  the 
Rose,  have  been  immortalized.  Some  have  seen  in 
its  prodigality  of  blossoms  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  strew  the  ground  a  symbol  of  ostentation,  but 
surely  this  is  harsh  judgment.  Should  it  not  with 
more  propriety  be  likened  to  the  exuberance  of 
joyous  youth — healthy,  carefree,  and  overflowing 
with  happiness — as  schoolboys  on  holiday?  Of  all 
trees  the  Horsechestnut  is  most  fitting  to  be  re- 
garded as  an  emblem  of  vigorous  youth.  An  alien 
to  the  parks  and  gardens  of  western  Europe  and  to 
those  of  this  country  it  came,  and  by  merit  of  its 
hardiness,  its  sturdy  growth,  and  lovely  flowers  it 
conquered,  established  itself  among  us  and  holds  its 
own  among  the  wealth  of  indigenous  trees. 

In  literature  and  art  Greece  has  given  much  to  the 
world,  and  the  western  world  gladly  acknowledges  the 

IK) 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

debt  it  owes.  It  is  less  generally  known  that  to  her 
many  other  gifts  Greece  added  the  Horsechestnut, 
but  the  fact  is  established  after  a  lapse  of  three  and  a 
quarter  centuries.  Western  Europe's  first  knowledge 
of  the  Horsechestnut  was  of  trees  cultivated  in  Con- 
stantinople— just  as  was  the  case  with  the  Lilac,  most 
familiar  of  garden  shrubs.  The  two  discoveries 
almost  synchronized.  The  Lilac  was  sent  from  Con- 
stantinople to  Vienna  in  1 560.  Seeds  of  the  Horse- 
chestnut  were  sent  in  1570  from  Constantinople  to 
Vienna  by  Dr.  von  Ungnard,  Imperial  Ambassador 
to  the  court  of  Suliman  II,  and  a  tree  was  raised  by 
the  celebrated  Clusius.  But  a  Flemish  doctor,  one 
Quakleben,  who  was  attached  to  the  embassy  of 
Archduke  Ferdinand  I  at  Constantinople,  in  1557 
first  mentioned  the  tree  in  a  letter  to  Mattioli  as  told  in 
the  letters,  "Epistolarum  medicinalium  libri  quinque," 
published  in  Prague  in  1561.  Later  Mattioli  re- 
ceived a  fruit-bearing  branch  and  published  the  first 
description  of  the  tree  with  a  good  figure  of  the  leaves 
and  fruit  on  page  212  of  his  "Commentarii  in  libros 
sex  Pedacii  Dioscoridis  De  medica  materia,"  which  was 
published  in  Venice  in  1565.  Mattioli  called  it 
Castanea  equina  because  the  fruits  were  known  as 
At-Kastan  (Horsechestnut)  to  the  Turks  who  found 
them  useful  as  a  drug  for  horses  suffering  from  broken 
wind  or  coughs.  Here  then  we  have  the  origin  of 
120 


THE     HORSECHESTNUT 

the  popular  name  which  has  remained  unchanged  to 
this  day.  The  generic  name  Aesculus,  from  esca, 
nourishment,  was  adopted  by  Linnaeus,  but  was  first 
given  by  Pliny  to  a  kind  of  Oak  having  an  edible 
fruit.  The  specific  name  Hippocastanum  was  also 
adopted  by  Linnaeus  in  1753,  and  is  the  vernacular 
name  latinized.  The  tree  raised  in  Vienna  by  Clus- 
ius  grew  rapidly  and  is  mentioned  by  him,  with  a  good 
figure  of  the  leaves  and  fruit  and  the  history  of  its 
introduction  to  Vienna,  on  page  7  of  his  work  entitled 
"Rariorum  Plantarum  Historia,"  published  in  1601. 

To  France  seeds  were  brought  from  Constantinople 
by  Bachelier  in  161 5.  It  was  probably  introduced 
to  England  about  the  same  time,  for  in  Johnson's 
edition  of  Gerard's  "Herbal,"  published  in  1633,  it  is 
stated  that  the  Horsechestnut  was  growing  in  John 
Tradescant's  garden  at  South  Lambeth.  In  the 
original  edition,  published  in  1597,  Gerard  mentions 
it  as  a  tree  growing  in  Italy  and  sundry  places  of  the 
eastern  countries. 

In  the  early  struggling  days  of  this  country  its 
English  settlers  found  time  to  introduce  many  plants 
of  aesthetic  value  as  well  as  those  of  purely  economic 
worth.  But  unfortunately  dates  are  so  often  lacking 
that  the  exact  history  is  seldom  available.  Were  these 
more  ascertainable  the  romance  of  familiar  garden 
flowers  and  crops  would  be  apparent.     History  in 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

general  as  taught  in  schools  may  be  as  "dry  as  dust," 
but  the  salient  historical  facts  appertaining  to  the 
commonplace  things  of  every-day  life  and  acquain- 
tance are  rich  in  interest.  And,  moreover,  their 
teaching  is  not  without  its  direct  value  in  present- 
day  affairs.  Our  ancestors  sought  food  for  the  body 
and  things  of  beauty  to  delight  the  soul  even  as  we  do 
to-day.  We  enjoy  the  results  of  their  labours,  and  it 
is  our  bounden  duty  to  hand  them  on,  and  in  in- 
creasing worth,  to  the  generations  that  succeed  our 
immediate  own.  Whether  this  is  done  through 
selfish  or  altruistic  motives  it  matters  not  at  all 
in  the  practical  results  which  accrue.  And  it  will  be 
done  though  in  a  measure  unconsciously.  Improved 
strains  of  wheat,  pulse,  cotton,  of  Roses  and  new 
flowers,  of  everything  which  increases  the  food  re- 
sources or  ministers  to  the  soul  have  to-day,  as 
they  always  have  had  and  must  ever  have,  not  only 
immediate  but  progressive  value  to  the  human 
race. 

As  we  realize  what  our  forbears  did  under  adverse 
conditions  the  question  as  to  what  we  are  doing 
naturally  presents  itself.  After  all  the  present  gene- 
ration is  not  a  slothful,  heedless  one;  selfish  and 
thoughtless  it  may  be  but  the  fault  is  not  deliberate  on 
its  part.  Ignorance  is  not  yet  eradicated  neither  is  it 
ineradicable,  but  instruction  is  needed  to-day  just  as 


THE     HORSECHESTNUT 

it  has  always  been  needed.  Every  father  has 
thoughts  for  providing  toward  the  future  welfare  of 
his  children,  and  if  these  thoughts  tend  more  to  their 
material  advancement  in  bodily  comforts  it  is  not 
that  he  wishes  to  starve  their  minds.  From  per- 
sonal experience  every  present-day  father  knows 
the  needs  of  the  one,  fewer  know  the  needs  of  both. 
As  the  race  develops  so  a  proper  appreciation  of  the 
needs  of  body  and  mind  will  be  attained,  and  the  fact 
clearly  appreciated  that  mind  is  greater  than  matter 
and  its  needs  even  more  important.  In  God's  great 
book  of  Nature  will  be  found  food  essential  to  the  full 
and  proper  development  of  the  human  race.  All  this 
may  seem  to  belong  more  to  the  realm  of  philosophy 
than  to  the  matter  of  the  Horsechestnut,  and  yet  the 
story  of  the  tree  is,  after  all,  the  commonplace  story 
of  the  triumph  of  the  beautiful  over  the  sordid  cares 
of  life.  And  it  demonstrates  anew  the  truism  that 
beauty  is  transcendental. 

Thanks  to  the  letters  published  by  William  Dar- 
lington in  his  "Memorials  of  John  Bartram  atid 
Humphry  Marshall"  in  1849,  the  story  of  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Horsechestnut  into  America  is  on 
record.    Thus  page  146,  London,  September  16,  1741 : 

"I  have  sent  some  Horsechestnuts  which  are  ripe 
earlier  than  usual;  hope  they  will  come  fit  for  plant- 
ing."    P.  Collinson,  p.  175;  April  iuth,  1746: 
•23 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

"I  have  some  hopes  of  the  Horsechestnut  though 
most  of  them  were  blue  moulded  yet  some  seemed  to 
be  pretty  sound."     J.  Bartram. 

And  finally,  p.  252,  London,  August  4,  1763:  "But 
what  delights  me  is,  to  hear  that  our  Horse- 
chestnut  has  flowered.  I  think  it  much  excells  the 
Virginia,  if  the  spikes  of  flowers  are  as  large  with 
you  as  with  us.  To  see  a  long  avenue  of  these  at 
Hampton  Court — of  trees  50  feet  high — being  per- 
fect pyramids  of  flowers  from  top  to  bottom,  for  all 
the  spikes  of  flowers  are  at  the  extremities — is  one 
of  the  grandest  and  most  charming  sights  in  the 
world."     P.  Collinson. 

I  have  had  some  experience  in  sending  seeds  from 
distant  lands  and  consider  the  Horsechestnut  among 
the  most  difficult  to  transport  safely.  I  marvel 
that  in  those  days  of  slow  sailing  ships  it  should  have 
been  successfully  done.  From  the  lapse  of  time  be- 
tween Collinson's  reply  it  may  be  inferred  that  more 
than  one  consignment  was  sent.  But  sticking  to  it 
does  wonders,  and  to-day  we  benefit  from  these  grand 
old  plant-lovers'  successful  efforts.  I  n  this  one  accom- 
plishment they  made  the  American  people  their 
debtors  and  such  debts  are  pleasant  to  acknowledge 
and  to  bear. 

So  well  known  is  the  Horsechestnut  that  it  seems 
superfluous  to  attempt  a  description  of  the  tree. 
124 


THE     HORSECHESTNUT 

It  will  grow  well  on  sandy  or  on  calcareous  soils  but 
luxuriates  best  in  rich,  cool  loam.  Given  plenty  of 
room  in  park  or  on  lawn  it  will  exceed  a  hundred  feet 
in  height  and  20  feet  in  girth  of  trunk.  Its  massive 
branches  with  their  laterals  form  a  splendid  oval  or 
bell-shaped  crown,  and  sweep  the  ground.  In  spring 
pyramids,  fully  ten  inches  high,  of  flowers  are  up- 
thrust  from  the  ends  of  thousands  of  branches.  No 
tree  is  more  prodigal  in  its  wealth  of  blossoms,  and 
none  is  more  spectacularly  beautiful.  The  petals 
are  erect  and  tend  to  curve  backward,  the  stamens — 
seven  in  number — and  the  style  are  slightly  curved 
and  projected  forward,  and  serve  as  a  platform  for 
bees — their  chief  visitors.  On  the  face  of  the  upper 
petal  are  yellow  spots  which  later  turn  red  and  are 
called  honey-guides.  A  closer  inspection  will  reveal 
other  interesting  facts.  In  each  thyrsoid  inflores- 
cence the  upper  flowers  open  first  and  are  potentially 
male;  the  lower  flowers  are  perfect,  but  the  pistil 
matures  first  and  is  ready  to  receive  the  pollen  im- 
mediately the  flowers  open;  the  stamens  in  these 
flowers  are  at  first  bent  down  below  the  style,  later 
on  they  move  up  to  its  level.  We  see  here  a  provi- 
sion for  cross-pollination  from  the  upper  male 
flowers  and,  if  this  fails,  self-pollination  is  assured  by 
the  rising  of  the  stamens  in  the  same  flowers.  The 
scent  of  the  flowers  is  remotely  like  that  of  the  Haw- 
125 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

thorn  and  is  not  particularly  pleasant.  The  bright 
green  leaves  unfold  slightly  before  the  inflorescence 
appears  and  are  full  grown  when  the  flowers  are 
wholly  expanded.  The  leaves  are  disposed  in  oppo- 
site pairs  on  the  shoots,  have  a  long,  stout  stalk,  and 
the  blade  is  of  from  five  to  seven  separate  leaflets  radi- 
ating from  a  common  base  like  fingers  of  the  hand. 
When  the  leaves  fall  in  the  autumn  they  leave  prom- 
inent scars  on  the  shoots.  The  winter-buds  are 
large,  chestnut-brown,  and  are  covered  with  resinous 
scale-leaves  and  contain  next  year's  shoots  in  an  ad- 
vanced state  including  the  flowers.  If  sliced  ver- 
tically all  this  may  be  clearly  seen  in  winter.  In 
spring  the  buds  expand  very  rapidly  as  the  least 
observant  must  have  noticed.  A  whole  shoot  from 
i  to  i  J  feet  long  being  fully  developed  inside  of  three 
weeks.  These  viscid  winter-buds  are  a  character  of 
importance.  In  eastern  North  America  several 
species  of  Horsechestnut  grow  wild.  Here  they  are 
known  as  Buckeyes;  and  is  not  Ohio  the  Buckeye 
State?  But  all  these  have  gray  winter-buds,  perfectly 
free  of  any  suspicion  of  resin .  The  Old-World  species, 
of  which  there  are  six  (one  in  Japan,  two  in  China, 
two  in  India,  and  one  in  Greece),  and  the  one  which 
grows  wild  in  California  have  viscid  winter-buds. 

The  large,  nearly  globular,  fruit  with  its  prickly 
studded  shell  is   well    known.     It    splits    and    falls 
126 


THE     HORSECHESTNUT 

when  ripe  and  liberates  the  seeds  which  vary  from 
one  to  three  and  are  glossy,  shining  brown  with  a 
broad  pale  gray  base.  The  Horsechestnut  is  easily 
raised  from  seeds,  grows  rapidly,  and  is  readily 
transplanted.  In  dry  summers  and  in  towns  its 
leaves  turn  brown  early  and  for  this  reason,  and  also 
on  account  of  its  fruit,  it  is  not  a  good  tree  for  street 
planting.  It  is  for  specimens  and  for  avenues  and 
parks,  however,  exemplary. 

The  wood  of  the  Horsechestnut  is  soft,  lacks 
strength  and  durability,  and  is  of  little  or  no  value. 
It  burns  badly  and  is  not  much  good  as  fuel.  The 
bark  contains  gallic  acid  and  a  bitter  principle,  which 
gives  it  value  as  a  tonic  equalling  that  of  the  Willow. 
The  seeds  have  many  uses  besides  that  employed  by 
schoolboys,  and  the  ancient  one  of  the  Turks.  Their 
taste  is  at  once  mild  and  bitter  and  they  are  rich  in 
starch.  Reduced  to  powder  they  serve  as  soap; 
roasted  they  are  used  as  coflfee;  fermented  they  yield 
a  spirituous  liquor  which  yields  alcohol  by  distilla- 
tion. The  young  aromatic  buds  have  been  substi- 
tuted for  Hops  in  the  manufacture  of  beer.  During 
the  Great  War  the  nuts  were  tried  in  England  for  the 
preparation  of  acetone  by  the  fermentation  process, 
and  it  was  considered  that  the  difficulties  attendant 
on  their  use  for  this  purpose  were  in  a  fair  way  of 
being  surmounted  when  the  armistice  was  signed. 
127 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Until  comparatively  recently  the  Caucasus,  Persia, 
northern  India,  and  Thibet  were  variously  given  as 
the  supposed  home  of  the  Horsechestnut.  On  the 
authority  of  Doctor  Hawkins,  Sipthorp  in  his  "Flora 
of  Greece"  published  in  1806,  states  that  this  tree  is 
wild  on  Mt.  Pelion  in  Crete  but  later  investigations 
have  decided  that  it  was  only  planted  there.  Trees 
introduced  into  Greece  by  the  Turks  are  always  found 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  towns,  and  it  is  doubtful  that 
the  ancient  Greeks  had  any  knowledge  of  the  Horse- 
chestnut.  For  centuries  the  native  country  of  this 
tree  was  a  matter  of  doubt  and  the  question  was  not 
settled  definitely  until  1879,  when  Theodor  von  Hel- 
dreich  published  a  full  account  of  it.  1 1  is  now  known 
to  be  wild  on  the  mountains  of  Thessaly,  Epirus,  and 
other  parts  of  northern  Greece.  In  1897  it  was  found 
growing  wild  on  precipices  in  the  district  of  Janina  in 
Albania,  below  the  lower  limit  of  the  coniferous  belt. 

Quite  naturally  in  a  tree  so  long  cultivated  several 
varieties  have  been  detected  and  perpetuated  by 
vegetative  propagation.  Among  the  most  distinct 
are  the  varieties  pyramidalis,  umbracidijera,  tortuosa, 
and  pendula,  sufficiently  described  by  their  names. 
A  form  with  leaflets  incised  into  narrow  lobes  has 
been  distinguished  as  var.  laciniata;  another  with 
short-stalked,  yellowish  variegated  leaves  suggests 
a  diseased  condition  and  ought  to  be  discounte- 
rs 


THE  HORSECHESTNUT 
nanced.  A  variety  with  double  flowers  (var.  flore- 
pleno),  however,  has  merit  since  the  flowers  last 
longer  than  those  of  the  type,  and  as  it  bears  no  fruit 
it  may  be  planted  where  the  type  is  objectionable. 
In  1822,  near  Geneva,  a  Mr.  A.  M.  Baumann  dis- 
covered on  an  ordinary  Horsechestnut-tree  a  single 
branch  which  bore  double  flowers.  This  branch 
was  propagated  by  the  Bollweiler  Nursery  in  Alsace, 
and  this  is  the  source  of  all  the  plants  of  the  double- 
flowered  variety  in  cultivation. 

Of  the  other  Horsechestnuts  in  the  world  it  is  not 
my  intention  to  tell.  A  Chinese  species  is  planted 
sparingly  in  temple  grounds  in  Peking.  The  Japa- 
nese species  grows  to  as  large  a  size  and  is  no  less 
beautiful  than  the  common  species.  Several  of  the 
eastern  American  species  have  coloured  flowers 
from  yellow  to  orange  and  dark  red.  Also,  there  are 
hybrids  between  the  American  and  Grecian  species 
and  two  of  these  (carnea  and  Briotii)  are  strikingly 
beautiful.  But  my  theme  concerns  the  Common 
Horsechestnut,  the  favourite  of  the  schoolboy,  one 
of  the  most  accommodating  of  all  trees,  hardy,  quick- 
growing,  floriferous;  perhaps  the  handsomest  of  all 
the  trees  of  the  north  temperate  regions,  familiar 
to  all,  a  tree  of  beauty,  a  joy  to  behold — Aesculus 
Hippocastanum  L. 


129 


#?*&•»> 


..# 


^W^ 


K  I 


ESOI     I  II  I     HORSE-CHES  I  M    I 


ONI  in  I  III  MOS  I  DECORATIV1  01  \l  I  rREES, 
I S  EQU A LL Y  E FF ECTI V 1  IN  rRAC E R Y  O I  BRANCHES, 
IN   SPECTACULAR   FLOWER     \\l>    IN     MM     LEAFAG1 

ilus   Hippocasianum ) 


Hf 


*fc 


CHAPTER    IX 
THE    MAGNOLIAS 


CHAPTER    IX 
THE    MAGNOLIAS 

THE  group  it  is  intended  to  discuss  here  is 
remarkable  in  having  the  largest  flowers  and 
largest  undivided  leaves  of  any  group  of  trees 
hardy  in  this  climate.  The  American  species  all 
flower  after  the  leaves  are  developed  and  are  among 
the  handsomest  of  native  trees.  There  are  Asiatic 
species  which  blossom  after  the  manner  of  the 
American  kinds  but  only  three  of  these  are  common 
in  gardens.  The  Asiatic  members  which  produce 
their  blossoms  before  the  leaves  unfold  are,  how- 
ever, familiar  and  popular  garden  plants.  Magnolias 
grow  wild  in  the  eastern  United  States  and  in  eastern 
Asia  from  Japan  westward  to  the  Sikkim  and  Bhutan 
Himalayas,  having  their  northern  limit  in  Hokkaido 
and  their  southern  in  Malacca  and  Pinang.  In  all 
some  34  species  and  numerous  varieties  are  recognized ; 
but  only  12  species,  several  hybrids,  and  about  half-a- 
dozen  varieties  have  proved  hardy  as  far  north  as 
Boston,  Mass.  The  Japanese,  with  two  exceptions 
(M.  salicijolia  and  M.  IVatsonii),  are  hardy  here;  like- 
'33 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

wise  the  American  species  except  the  noble  evergreen 
M.  grandiflora  and  the  dwarf  M.  pyramidata.  None 
of  the  Himalayan  nor  the  Malayan  species  can  be 
grown  out  of  doors  in  New  England,  and  of  the 
Chinese  two  species  only.  Yet  these  two  with  their 
numerous  forms  and  hybrids  are,  with  the  Japanese 
M.  stellata,  the  familiar  Magnolias  of  our  gardens. 

In  our  second  chapter  the  Magnolia  is  mentioned 
among  the  types  of  trees  which  in  earlier  geological 
ages  were  found  widespread  in  north  temperate  re- 
gions. It  is,  in  fact,  an  ancient  type,  and  its  mem- 
bers to-day  are  a  mere  remnant  of  a  very  extensive 
group  of  north  temperate  forest  trees  which  formerly 
grew  in  Europe,  Siberia,  western  North  America, 
Canada,  and  Greenland.  Though  much  less  ancient 
than  the  Ginkgo,  the  Magnolias  had  in  early  times  a 
similar  distribution  and  fossil  remains  are  common 
in  Tertiary  lands  of  the  Northern  Hemisphere. 

I  hope  readers  will  not  tire  of  these  historical  facts 
which  are  necessary  to  the  proper  appreciation  of  the 
types  here  selected.  I  do  not  wish  them  to  be  deemed 
"dry-as-dust"  facts,  but  tangible  proofs  of  the  ven- 
erable character  and  of  added  interest  to  whatever 
appreciation  we  may  hold  these  trees  in.  I  want 
readers  to  look  upon  these  types  as  examples  of  forest 
growth  that  have  long  and  nobly  played  their  part 
in  the  world's  history,  and  to  think  of  them  as  we  do 
i34 


THE     MAGNOLIAS 

of  old  art  treasures — as  things  to  be  proud  of  and 
grateful  for  their  having  been  preserved  for  our  edi- 
fication and  enjoyment.  And  not  for  ours  alone  but 
for  that  of  the  generations  which  come  after  us.  A 
nation's  finest  trees  should  rightly  be  counted  among 
its  most  prized  national  treasures;  but  of  the  countries 
of  the  world  to-day  Japan  alone  regards  ancient  trees 
as  a  national  treasure  asset !  Such  they  truly  are,  and 
there  is  no  escape  from  the  punishment  Nature 
metes  out  to  lands  whose  forest  growth  is  destroyed. 
In  this  country  the  price  is  being  exacted,  and  in 
countries  like  China  and  Korea  the  multiple  interest 
is  so  great  that  the  lands  groan  beneath  the  burden. 
With  no  trees  to  hold  the  soil  on  steep  slopes  when 
heavy  rains  fall,  rivers  become  charged  with  silt, 
break  their  bounds,  and  destroy  everything  within 
their  reach — crops,  villages,  and  inhabitants. 

No  other  genus  of  hardy  or  half-hardy  trees  and 
shrubs  can  boast  so  many  excellences  as  the  Mag- 
nolias. The  free-flowering  qualities  and  great  beauty 
of  blossoms  and  foliage  are  only  equalled  by  the  ease 
with  which  they  may  be  cultivated.  As  a  single 
specimen  in  a  conspicuous  position  on  the  lawn  the 
Yulan  and  its  hybrids  are  unrivalled,  and  as  an 
avenue  tree  the  Cucumber-tree  (M.  acuminata)  is 
hard  to  excel. 

All  Magnolias  grow  naturally  in  moist,  rich  woods 
•35 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

and  they  detest  drought.  They  will  withstand  con- 
siderable hardship  and  abuse,  but  the  best  results 
are  obtained  when  they  are  protected  from  strong 
winds  and  are  planted  in  cool,  deep  soil,  rich  in  humus. 
An  ideal  place  is  open,  moist  woods.  In  northern 
gardens  the  best  time  to  transplant  Magnolias  is 
late  in  the  spring.  They  may  also  be  moved  success- 
fully in  late  August,  but  at  either  season  they  must 
not  be  allowed  to  suffer  from  lack  of  water,  and  it  is 
advisable  to  mulch  them  with  well-decayed  manure. 
These  are  practical  items  of  the  highest  importance 
which  no  aspirant  to  success  can  afford  to  neglect. 
Moreover,  such  magnificent  garden  plants  are  worthy 
of  a  little  extra  attention  and  repay  it  a  hundred- 
fold. 

The  most  delightful  of  American  Magnolias  hardy 
in  New  England  is  the  Sweet  Bay  (M.  virginiana, 
better  known  as  M.  glaiica).  In  the  North  this  is 
never  more  than  a  large  bush  or  small  tree,  but  in 
the  South  it  is  often  quite  a  large  tree  from  50  to  70 
feet  tall  and  from  6  to  10  feet  in  girth  of  trunk.  It 
has  dark  green  shining  leaves  which  are  silvery- 
white  on  the  underside;  in  shape  they  are  oblong  to 
somewhat  oval;  they  are  leathery  in  texture,  and 
in  moist,  sheltered  places  the  plant  is  sub-evergreen. 
The  bark  on  the  young  shoots  is  a  rich  apple  green 
and  on  the  older  branches  it  is  gray.  The  flowers 
136 


THE     MAGNOLIAS 

are  small,  cup-shaped,  creamy  white,  gradually  ac- 
quiring a  pale  apricot  hue,  and  are  delightfully  fra- 
grant, scenting  the  whole  neighbourhood.  They 
continue  to  open  in  succession  from  about  mid-June 
until  August  when  the  red  fruit  cones  begin  to  show 
in  marked  contrast  against  the  dark,  glossy  green 
foliage.  The  roots  yield  a  yellow  dye.  According 
to  Emerson,  the  plant  affords  a  good  tonic  and  warm 
stimulant,  and  it  was  formerly  used  with  great  success 
in  chronic  rheumatism,  in  intermittent  fevers,  and 
particularly  in  fever  and  ague.  The  Sweet  Bay 
grows  wild  in  swamps,  and  is  found  in  Essex  County, 
Mass.,  and  from  Queens  County,  Long  Island,  to 
Louisiana  and  eastern  Texas.  There  is  not  a 
more  delightful  North  American  shrub  to  plant  in 
gardens,  not  one  that  will  give  larger  returns  in 
beauty  and  fragrance.  It  is  an  old  garden  plant,  hav- 
ing been  discovered  and  introduced  into  Europe  before 
the  17th  century,  yet  it  is  unknown  to  most  American 
planters  of  this  generation.  In  eastern  Florida  there 
is  said  to  grow  a  dwarf  form  (var.  pumila)  which 
does  not  exceed  3  or  4  feet  in  height.  A  hybrid 
(A/,  major,  better  known  as  M.  Thomsoniana)  be- 
tween the  Sweet  Bay  and  the  Umbrella-tree  (M. 
tripetala)  has  the  general  appearance  of  M.  virgini- 
ana,  but  has  larger  leaves  and  larger  flowers. 

The  most  stately  of  the  hardy  American  Magnolias 
'37 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

is  M.  acuminata,  the  Cucumber-tree,  so  called  from 
the  slight  resemblance  borne  by  the  young  fruits  to  a 
small  cucumber.  It  is  a  tree  from  70  to  90  feet  tall 
with  a  stout  trunk  and  ascending-spreading  branches 
forming  a  bold,  broad-pyramidal  crown.  The 
leaves  are  from.  6  to  10  inches  long,  oblong  and 
pointed,  green  on  both  surfaces,  and  slightly  hairy 
below.  The  flowers  are  erect,  cup-shaped,  glaucous- 
green  tinged  with  yellow,  and  are  slightly  fragrant. 
It  is  hardy  as  far  north  at  least  as  Hanover,  New 
Hampshire,  and  is  found  wild  from  southern  Ontario 
and  western  New  York  to  Ohio  and  southward.  A 
shapely,  free-growing  tree  it  is  eminently  suitable  for 
avenue  planting'and  as  a  specimen  tree  on  lawns  and 
in  parks.  It  was  one  of  the  trees  introduced  into 
Europe  by  the  famous  John  Bartram  who  sent  it  in 
1746  to  Collinson  in  London,  with  whom  it  flowered 
for  the  first  time  on  May  20,  1762.  There  is  a  form 
of  the  Cucumber-tree  (var.  aurea)  with  yellow  leaves 
slightly  streaked  and  mottled  with  green. 

Somewhat  similar  to  M.  acuminata  is  the  Yellow- 
flowered  Cucumber-tree  {M.  cordata)  whose  history  is 
quite  romantic.  It  was  originally  discovered  by  the 
French  botanist  and  traveller,  Michaux,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Augusta,  Georgia,  sometime  between 
1787  and  1796  and  by  him  (or  his  son)  immediately 
sent  to  France.  All  the  trees  now  in  gardens  have 
138 


THE     MAGNOLIAS 

been  derived  from  the  original  introduction.  Many 
efforts  to  re-discover  this  tree  were  made  but  all 
failed  until  six  years  ago  when  Mr.  Louis  A.  Berck- 
mans  accidentally  happened  upon  it  in  a  dry  wood 
some  eighteen  miles  south  of  Augusta,  Georgia. 

Michaux  described  it  as  a  tree  from  40  to  50  feet 
tall  but  the  recent  discoveries  are  bushes  from  4  to 
6  feet  high.  As  we  know  it  in  cultivation  Mich- 
aux's  plant  is  a  medium-sized  tree  with  a  shapely, 
rounded  crown,  and  broadly  ovate  leaves,  more  or 
less  heart-shaped  at  the  base,  and  hairy  on  the  under- 
side. The  cup-shaped,  faintly  odorous  flowers  are 
yellow,  about  4  inches  across,  and  have  the  inner 
petals  frequently  marked  with  reddish  lines.  It 
flowers  freely  about  the  beginning  of  June  and  in 
wet  seasons  bears  a  second  crop  of  flowers  in  late 
July  and  August. 

Most  remarkable  is  the  Great-leaf  Magnolia 
(M.  macrophylla)  which  has  the  largest  undivided 
leaves  of  any  tree  hardy  in  the  gardens  of  the  north 
temperate  regions.  The  leaves  are  sometimes  as 
much  as  3§  feet  long  and  from  8  to  9  inches  wide  and 
are  obovate-oblong,  narrowed  and  heart-shaped  at 
the  base,  and  hairy  and  white  on  the  underside.  The 
flowers  open  about  the  end  of  June  and  are  from  8  to 
12  inches  across,  bowl-shaped,  fragrant,  white  with  a 
purple  blotch  at  the  base  of  the  inner  petals.  It  is 
139 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

not  a  large  tree,  seldom  exceeding  40  feet  in  height 
with  a  trunk  about  3  feet  in  girth.  It  attains  its 
maximum  development  in  sheltered  valleys  and  for- 
est glades  on  the  limestone  of  North  Carolina.  A 
rare  tree  in  a  wild  state,  it  is  distributed  from  North 
Carolina  to  central  Florida  and  westward  to  south- 
east Kentucky  and  eastern  Mississippi  and  southward 
to  central  Alabama.  It  is  another  discovery  of  the 
elder  Michaux  who  found  it  in  North  Carolina  in  1789 
and  introduced  it  to  European  gardens  the  following 
year.  Naturally  with  such  huge  leaves  it  requires 
protection  from  the  wind  and  should  be  planted  in  a 
cool,  sheltered  place.  It  is  hardy  in  the  Arnold 
Arboretum  and  at  Rochester,  New  York,  where 
there  are  fine  old  trees  in  the  Elwanger  and  Barry 
Nursery.  Such  a  wonderful  tree  is  worthy  of  the 
widest  recognition  among  garden  lovers. 

Ranking  next  in  size  of  leaf  to  the  above  is  the 
Umbrella-tree  (M.  tripctala)  which  has  leaves  from 
1  \  to  3  feet  long,  obovate-lance-shaped,  tapering  at 
both  ends,  and  clustered  at  the  end  of  the  shoot. 
The  flowers  are  white,  slightly  scented,  and  from  5 
to  8  inches  across.  The  Umbrella-tree  seldom  ex- 
ceeds 40  feet  in  height,  and  grows  wild  from  York 
and  Lancaster  counties,  Pennsylvania,  along  the 
Alleghanies  to  Virginia  and  Kentucky.  It  is  an  old 
denizen  of  gardens,  having  been  introduced  into  Eng- 
140 


THE     MAGNOLIAS 

land  about  1750  where  it  flowered  the  first  time  on 
May  24,  1760. 

The  first  of  the  American  Magnolias  to  open  its 
flowers  each  year  in  Massachusetts  is  M.  Fraseri,  the 
Ear-leaf  Umbrella-tree.  It  is  native  of  the  south 
Appalachian  region  but  is  quite  hardy  in  the  Arnold 
Arboretum.  A  small  tree,  rarely  more  than  40  feet 
tall,  it  has  an  open  crown  of  long  branches,  foot-long 
leaves,  oblong-obovate  and  spatulate  in  shape, 
deeply  cleft  at  base,  green  above  and  glaucous 
below.  Its  flowers,  which  are  very  conspicuous  by 
reason  of  their  standing  well  above  the  end  of  the 
branches,  are  creamy  white,  sweet  scented,  and  from 
8  to  1  o  inches  across ;  they  open  about  the  end  of  May. 
This  tree  was  discovered  by  W.  Bartram  as  long  ago 
as  1776  and  introduced  into  Europe  about  1786  by 
John  Fraser. 

Closely  related  to  the  above  but  smaller  in  all  its 
parts  is  M.  pyramidata,  which  grows  wild  in  the  ex- 
treme southwestern  corner  of  Alabama  and  adjacent 
Florida  and  is  not  hardy  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum. 

We  have  now  mentioned  all  the  deciduous  Mag- 
nolias of  this  country  and  it  remains  to  say  a  few 
words  about  the  Bay  Laurel  or  Bull  Bay  (A/,  grandi- 
flora),  the  noblest  evergreen,  broad-leaf  tree  of 
the  Northern  Hemisphere.  It  is  native  of  the  warm 
Southern  states  and  unfortunately  cannot  he  grown 
141 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

out  of  doors  in  northern  latitudes.  It  is  worth  a 
journey  to  Louisiana  to  see  this  tree  luxuriating  on 
its  native  heath  where  it  is  sometimes  ioo  feet  tall 
and  12  feet  in  girth  of  trunk.  It  has  many  rela- 
tively short,  spreading  branches  which  form  a  bell- 
shaped  crown.  The  leaves  are  of  good  size,  glossy 
green  above,  gray  to  rust-red  on  the  underside.  The 
flowers  are  cup-shaped,  fully  8  inches  across,  white 
fading  to  cream  with  a  rather  heavy  spicy  odour. 
Like  other  American  Magnolias  it  was  early  intro- 
duced into  Europe;  it  was  in  England  in  1737  but  is 
only  properly  hardy  in  the  most  favoured  parts  of 
that  country.  The  Bay  Laurel  is  one  of  the  few 
American  trees  that  have  been  introduced  to  the 
Orient.  In  the  Public  Gardens,  Shanghai,  there  are 
several  shapely  trees,  and  in  Japan  it  grows  well  in 
Yokohama,  Tokyo,  and  places  to  the  south.  In 
Europe  a  great  many  seedling  forms  have  appeared 
differing  in  trivial  characters,  chiefly  those  of  the 
leaf.  The  most  marked  are  varieties  angitstijolia, 
jerruginea,  lanceolata,  and  obovata. 

The  Asiatic  Magnolias,  or  rather  the  few  hardy 
species  that  open  their  blossoms  before  the  leaves 
unfold,  are  the  most  popular  members  of  the  family 
and  the  most  conspicuous  of  spring-flowering  plants. 
Two  of  these  are  great  favourites  with  the  flower- 
loving  peoples  of  China  and  Japan  where  one — the 
142 


THE     MAGNOLIAS 

Yulan — is  known  to  have  been  cultivated  for  more 
than  thirteen  centuries.  Its  flower  is  regarded  as  a 
symbol  of  candour,  and  in  paintings,  porcelains,  and 
embroideries  it  has  been  portrayed  by  all  the  best 
oriental  artists. 

The  typical  white-flowered  Yulan  (M.  denudata, 
more  generally  known  as  M.  conspicua)  was  intro- 
duced by  Sir  Joseph  Banks  from  China  into  England 
in  1789.  It  grows  wild  in  moist  woods  in  the  central 
parts  of  China,  though  this  fact  has  only  recently 
been  made  known.  This  form,  however,  is  rare  in  a 
wild  state,  and  that  most  usually  found  has  rosy  or 
reddish-pink  flowers  and  is  very  like  the  M.  Soulan- 
geana  of  gardens.  This  coloured  variety  has  like- 
wise been  long  cultivated  in  China  and  Japan;  in 
the  latter  country  it  is  known  as  "Sarasa-renge"  and 
in  Japanese  nursery  catalogues  as  M.  obovata  var. 
discolor;  correctly  it  should  be  M.  denudata  var. 
purpurascens.  In  1900  I  introduced  this  variety  by 
means  of  seeds  collected  from  wild  trees  in  central 
China,  and  the  plants  are  now  flowering  in  England. 
However,  I  strongly  suspect  that  it  has  been  growing 
in  western  gardens  for  a  much  longer  period  under 
some  other  name  and  its  identity  obscured. 

Both  the  white  and  coloured  varieties  of  the 
Yulan  are  handsome  trees  fifty  feet  tall  with  a  trunk 
8  feet  in   girth   and   ascending-spreading  branches. 

'43 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Such  trees  I  have  seen  in  the  forest  of  central  China 
laden  with  thousands  of  flowers,  and  the  spectacle 
they  presented  will  never  be  forgotten.  In  the  gar- 
dens of  eastern  North  America  examples  of  the 
white  Yulan  from  20  to  25  feet  tall  are  known  and 
it  is  a  deservedly  popular  tree.  In  regard  to  this 
Magnolia  and  also  the  one  next  mentioned  a  point 
worthy  of  remembrance  is  that  they  have  been  prop- 
agated vegetatively,  by  layering  and  grafting,  for  we 
know  not  how  many  centuries.  This  does  not  appear 
to  have  impaired  their  constitution  and  accounts  for 
plants  less  than  a  yard  high  flowering  profusely. 

Less  hardy  than  the  Yulan  but  a  great  favourite 
in  gardens  south  of  Philadelphia  is  the  Purple- 
flowered  Yulan,  commonly  known  as  M .  obovata,  M. 
purpurea,  or  M.  discolor  but  correctly  as  M.  lilijlora. 
It  was  introduced  from  China  into  England  in  1790 
by  the  Duke  of  Portland  but  has  not  yet  been  dis- 
covered in  a  wild  state.  It  appears  to  be  always  a 
shrub,  and  its  handsome  flowers  vary  somewhat  in 
colour,  the  finest  being  a  rich  wine-red. 

Under  cultivation  in  Europe  several  hybrids  be- 
tween M.  denudata  and  M.  lilijlora  have  originated 
and  have  proved  themselves  hardier  and  even  better 
garden  plants  than  their  parents.  The  oldest  and 
best  known  of  these  hybrids  is  M.  Soulangeana  which 
originated  near  Paris.  It  is  a  vigorous-growing  tree 
144 


THE     MAGNOLIAS 

with  flowers  suffused  with  rose  colour.  Many  fine 
examples  grow  in  this  country  and  at  Hampton, 
near  Baltimore,  Maryland,  there  is  a  specimen  with  a 
trunk  8  feet  in  girth.  Very  similar  to  this  are  forms 
known  in  gardens  as  M.  speciosa,  M.  superba,  M. 
cyathijormis,  M.  Alexandria,  M.  spectabilis,  and  M. 
triuniphans.  Quite  distinct  is  Magnolia  Lennei, 
with  its  large  blossoms,  the  outside  of  the  petals 
of  which  are  port-wine  coloured  at  the  base,  and  rich 
crimson  toward  the  tips.  It  is  a  late-flowering  kind 
which  originated  as  a  seedling  in  Italy,  and  is  regarded 
as  a  natural  hybrid  of  the  two  Yulans.  Perhaps  the 
finest  of  all  these  hybrids  is  that  known  as  M.  rustica 
rubra,  with  its  large,  cheery,  rose-red  flowers  each  petal 
of  which  is  edged  with  white.  It  is  a  chance  seedling 
supposed  to  be  from  M.  Lennei  and  originated  in  a 
nursery  in  Boskoop,  Holland,  some  twenty-five  years 
ago. 

The  Japanese  M.  kobus  is  common  in  the  forests 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  Japan.  The  southern 
and  typical  form  is  a  large  bush  or  low  tree,  but  the 
northern  form  (var.  borealis)  is  a  fine  tree  from  60  to 
75  feet  tall,  broad-pyramidal  in  outline  with  a 
smooth  trunk  6  feet  in  girth.  This  variety  is  the 
most  northern  of  all  Magnolias  and  was  introduced 
into  this  country  by  Mr.  \V.  S.  Clark  in  1876  and 
later  was  sent  to  Europe.  It  has  proved  to  be  the 
«45 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

most  free-growing  of  its  group,  and  trees  raised  from 
the  original  seeds  are  now  35  feet  tall  with  broad, 
pyramidate  crowns.  This  Magnolia  first  produced 
flowers  in  the  garden  of  Professor  Sargent,  Brookline, 
Mass.,  in  April,  1899.  The  blossoms  are  pure  white, 
cup-shaped,  and  smaller  than  those  of  the  Yulan. 
On  young  trees  the  flowers  were  sparse  but  with  age 
it  has  proved  to  be  as  floriferous  as  any  other  Mag- 
nolia. 

The  first  of  all  Magnolias  to  open  its  flowers  each 
spring  is  the  lovely  M.  stellata,  to  my  mind  the  most 
charming  of  all.  It  is  always  a  broad,  shapely  shrub 
from  10  to  15  feet  high  and  more  in  diameter;  the 
star-shaped,  snowy  blossoms  are  smaller  than  those  of 
other  species  but  are  produced  in  such  profusion  as  to 
cover  the  bush  with  white.  We  owe  this  Magnolia, 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  most  satisfactory  of 
hardy  spring-flowering  shrubs,  to  Dr.  George  R.  Hall 
who  brought  it  from  Japan  in  1862  and  gave  it  to  Mr. 
S.  B.  Parsons,  Flushing,  Long  Island.  It  was  dis- 
tributed as  M.  Halliana  and  it  is  a  pity  that  the  rule  of 
priority  prevents  the  use  of  a  name  which  would  so 
worthily  commemorate  its  introducer.  In  addition 
to  the  type  there  is  a  pink-flowered  form  (var.  rosea) 
which  makes  a  delightful  companion  to  it. 

There  are  in  Europe  several  other  Asiatic  Mag- 
nolias which  flower  before  the  leaves  but  only  two  of 
146 


MAGNOLIA     FLOW]    RS 

miii    n  \  >       \I .     randi  flora  I,    vbovi 
vulan      U.  denudata  <    n  i  1  <  >\\ 


THE     MAGNOLIAS 

them  (M.  CampbeUii  and  M.  salicijolia)  have  so  far 
borne  blossoms.  The  first  named  is  native  of  the 
Outer  Himalayas  between  8,000  and  10,000  feet,  and 
in  flower  is  one  of  the  most  gorgeous  of  all  northern 
trees.  It  has  scented,  cup-shaped  blossoms  from 
deep  rose  to  crimson  in  colour  and  10  inches  across. 
It  has  not  proved  hardy  in  Europe  save  in  one  or 
two  favoured  places  in  England  where  it  has  pro- 
duced rosy-pink  flowers.  In  this  country  I  have  not 
heard  of  any  one  succeeding  with  it,  though  in  the 
South  and  on  the  Pacific  seaboard  there  are  places 
where  it  should  thrive.  Certainly  such  a  strikingly 
beautiful  tree  ought  to  be  given  a  fair  trial.  Rival- 
ling the  Himalayan  treasure,  however,  is  M.  Sar- 
gentiana,  which  I  discovered  and  introduced  in  1908. 
It  is  growing  in  France  and  England  but  has  not 
proved  hardy  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum.  The  other 
species  (A/,  salicifolia)  is  Japanese  and  is  distributed 
on  the  mountains  from  Kyushu  to  northern  Hondo, 
and  was  introduced  into  this  country  by  Professor 
Sargent  in  1892.  It  is  a  slender  tree  with  small,  cup- 
shaped  white  flowers  and  narrow,  thin  leaves.  The 
shoots  when  bruised  emit  a  strong  smell  of  camphor, 
in  fact  when  I  first  found  it  wild  I  took  it  for  some 
member  of  the  Camphor  family.  Somehow  this 
plant  has  not  taken  kindly  to  cultivation  though  it 
has  flowered  in  the  arboretum  of  Mr.  T.  E.  Proctor, 
147 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Topsfield,  Mass.,  and  in  the  Cottage  Gardens 
Nursery,  Long  Island.  It  is  essentially  a  woodland 
plant,  delighting  in  moist  slopes  and  quite  likely,  if 
we  could  get  it  properly  established,  all  would  be 
well. 

Finally  there  are  the  Asiatic  Magnolias  which  open 
their  flowers  after  the  leaves  unfold,  in  the  manner  of 
the  American  species.  Of  these,  three  only  are  in 
cultivation  in  this  country,  but  none  is  well  known. 
The  most  striking  is  M.  obovata,  more  generally 
known  as  M.  hypoleuca,  which  in  general  appear- 
ance resembles  the  American  M.  tripetala.  It  is 
widely  distributed  in  forests  of  Japan  from  the 
south  to  the  north  and  is  known  as  the  "Honoki." 
At  its  best  it  is  a  tree  80  feet  tall  and  7  feet  in  girth 
with  smooth  gray  bark  and  a  shapely  crown  of  stout 
branches.  The  leaves  are  from  a  foot  to  a  foot  and  a 
half  long  by  half  this  width  in  the  broadest  part, 
which  is  above  the  middle,  and  are  deep  green  above 
and  silvery  beneath.  Its  flowers  are  bowl-shaped, 
6  to  8  inches  across,  milk-white  fading  to  apricot 
with  a  ring  of  red-purple  anthers,  and  are  heavily 
fragrant.  It  has  very  large  cone-like  fruits  which 
are  bright  scarlet  when  ripe  and  very  conspicuous. 
This  Magnolia  is  an  important  timber  tree  in  the 
forests  of  Hokkaido,  and  with  M.  kobus  var.  borealis 
reaches  the  most  northern  geographical  limit  of  the 


THE     MAGNOLIAS 

family.  Like  a  number  of  other  valuable  plants  it  was 
first  introduced  into  this  country  and  afterward  into 
Europe  where  it  flowered  for  the  first  time  in  the 
garden  of  Mr.  B.  E.  C.  Chambers  at  Grayswood  Hill, 
Haslemere,  Surrey,  in  June,  1905.  Closely  related 
to  the  Honoki  is  a  Chinese  species  (M.  officinalis) 
which  is  growing  in  England  from  seeds  which  I 
sent  there  in  1900,  but  has  not  proved  hardy  in  the 
Arnold  Arboretum.  In  China,  the  bark  and  dried 
flowers  of  this  Magnolia  are  a  highly  valued  tonic 
medicine. 

A  Magnolia  whose  beauty  fascinated  me  in  the 
forests  of  Korea  is  M.  parviflora,  which  also  grows  in 
southern  Japan.  Its  snow-white  flowers  are  egg- 
shaped  in  bud  and  bowl-shaped  with  infolded  petals 
when  expanded,  and  have  scarlet  stamens  and  long 
stalks.  The  specific  name  is  misleading  for  the  flowers 
are  from  4  to  5  inches  across.  It  is  a  large  bush 
often  20  feet  high,  of  straggling  habit,  with  ovate 
leaves  from  3  to  6  inches  long  by  from  2  to  4  inches 
wide,  and  is  remarkably  floriferous.  It  delights  in 
rocky,  granite  country  and  is  especially  happy  by  the 
side  of  forest  streams.  On  the  Diamond  Mountains 
in  northeast  Korea,  where  the  winter  temperature 
is  more  severe  than  in  Massachusetts,  this  lovely 
Magnolia  is  a  feature,  and  I  have  hopes  of  this  Ko- 
rean form  being  a  better  garden  plant  than  the  Japa- 
149 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

nese  one  now  in  cultivation.  There  is  also  in  Japan 
a  form  (plena)  with  semi-double  flowers.  Growing 
and  blossoming  in  European  gardens  but  not  hardy 
here  is  Magnolia  IVilsonii  which  is  closely  akin  to 
the  above.  This  I  discovered  and  introduced  in  1904, 
and  again  in  1906,  together  with  several  other  Mag- 
nolias. 

Of  mysterious  origin  is  the  Japanese  M.  Watsonii 
which  was  introduced  into  Europe  by  the  Yokohama 
Nursery  Company  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  in  1889. 
The  plant  was  purchased  and  taken  to  Kew  Gardens 
where  it  flowered  the  following  year.  It  has  not  been 
discovered  in  a  wild  state  and  I  am  inclined  to  regard 
it  as  a  hybrid  between  M.  obovata  and  M.  parviflora, 
but  against  this  view  must  be  stated  the  fact  that  it  is 
much  less  hardy  than  either  of  the  above.  Very 
likely  it  will  some  day  be  found  wild  in  the  island  of 
Shikoku  or  some  other  part  of  southern  Japan.  Its 
leaves  are  rather  larger  and  thicker  in  texture  than 
those  of  M.  parviflora;  its  open,  cup-shaped,  white 
flowers  with  blood-red  stamens  have  a  strong  spicy 
odour  and  are  short  stalked,  and  about  6  inches  across. 

These  are  all  the  Magnolias  found  in  gardens  of 
the  cool-temperate  parts  of  this  country,  but  in  the 
South  M.  coco,  better  known  as  M.  pumila,  is  here  and 
there  cultivated.  This  is  a  shrubby  southern  China 
species  with  elliptic,  wavy,  rather  leathery,  glaucous 
150 


THE     MAGNOLIAS 

leaves  and  sweetly  fragrant,  nodding,  egg-shaped 
flowers.  It  was  introduced  into  England  as  long  ago 
as  1786  by  Lady  Amelia  Hume  who  had  a  garden  at 
Wormley  Bury  in  Hertfordshire,  where  she  culti- 
vated with  success  many  rare  and  beautiful  plants. 

Of  the  evergreen  Asiatic  Magnolias  only  one  species 
calls  for  mention  here.  That  is  M.Delavayi  which  has 
pointed,  leathery  leaves,  dull  green  above  and  pale 
below,  and  in  size  larger  than  those  of  any  other  ever- 
green that  can  be  grown  in  cool-temperate  lands.  It 
should  be  an  excellent  tree  for  the  Pacific  seaboard 
and  for  the  South.  The  flowers  are  fragrant,  white, 
cup-shaped,  from  6  to  8  inches  across,  and  are  followed 
by  large,  red,  cone-like  fruits.  A  native  of  Yunnan, 
southwest  China,  it  is  a  broad,  much-branched  tree 
fully  50  feet  tall.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  introducing 
this  Magnolia  to  English  gardens  by  means  of  seeds 
sent  in  the  late  autumn  of  1899.  Plants  raised  from 
them  flowered  for  the  first  time  in  Kew  Gardens  in 
1908. 


151 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  EUROPEAN  BEECH 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  EUROPEAN  BEECH 

Gardens  may  boast  a  tempting  show 
Of  nectarines,  grapes,  and  peaches, 

But  daintiest  truffles  lurk  below 
The  boughs  of  Burnham  Beeches. 

AMONG  the  familiar  trees  of  the  northern 
forests  none  is  more  stately  or  beautiful 
than  the  Common  Beech  {Fagus  sylvatica). 
A  cleanly  looking  tree  and  the  epitome  of  vigour  this 
Beech  has  been  aptly  termed  the  Hercules  and  Adonis 
of  European  forests.  There  is  something  peculiarly 
attractive  about  the  tree  at  all  seasons.  In  winter 
the  pale  gray,  smooth  bark  and  the  delicate  tracery  of 
the  myriad  branches  suggest  a  light  white  mist  hov- 
ering in  and  about  the  trees;  in  spring,  the  clear 
green  mantle  of  foliage  is  exquisitely  delicate  but 
soon  assumes  a  darker  hue  and  forms  a  dense  and 
cooling  shade  in  the  summer  heat,  and  in  autumn  the 
warm  yellow-  to  russet-brown  tints,  and  the  long 
persistence  of  the  dead  leaves  on  the  branches — all 
have  peculiar  charms.  Further,  the  ground  beneath 
i55 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Beech-trees  is  generally  dry  and  free  from  weeds  and 
is  inviting  to  sit  upon  and  rest. 

The  crown  of  the  Beech  tree  is  broad  and  far- 
spreading;  the  middle  and  upper  branches  are  sharply 
ascending,  the  lower  spread  horizontally  often  down- 
ward to  midway  in  their  length  but  are  upturned 
at  their  extremities.  There  are  famous  trees,  like 
the  Newbattle  Beech  near  Dalkeith,  some  eight  miles 
from  Edinburgh,  in  which  the  lower  branches  lying 
on  the  ground  have  taken  root  and  developed  into 
independent  trees.  The  branches  of  the  Beech  are 
very  numerous  and  crowded  and,  having  a  smooth 
bark,  are  particularly  liable  to  cross  and  grow  into 
each  other  and,  as  it  were,  inosculate.  Hence,  ac- 
cording to  some  old  authorities,  it  was  this  tree  that 
first  gave  the  idea  of  grafting.  At  its  best  the  Com- 
mon Beech  is  a  magnificent  tree  ioo  feet  or  more 
tall  with  a  trunk  fully  20  feet  in  girth.  When  grow- 
ing thickly  together  the  trunk  is  straight  and  free 
of  branches  for  from  30  to  50  feet  or  even  more,  but 
usually  the  unbranched  trunk  is  not  more  than  20 
feet  high.  On  old  trees,  and  especially  on  those 
pollarded  as  in  Epping  Forest  or  the  famous  Burnham 
Beeches,  huge  gnarled  burrs  develop  on  the  trunk 
and  arrest  attention.  It  is  gregarious,  and  its 
branches  so  numerous  and  dense  that  few  plants  will 
grow  beneath  its  shade.  The  firm,  close,  smooth, 
156 


THE     EUROPEAN     BEECH 

pale  gray  bark,  "its  glossy  rind,"  from  early  times 
seems  to  have  proved  an  irresistible  attraction  to 
love-sick  swains,  sentimental  adolescents,  and  other 
irresponsibles.  Everywhere  one  sees  lovely  Beech 
trunks  disfigured  by  letters  and  symbols  cut  into 
the  bark.  No  other  tree  suffers  to  the  same  extent 
from  this  peculiar  form  of  egotistical  vandalism. 

Geologically,  the  Beech  is  not  ancient,  having 
apparently  first  appeared  in  Tertiary  times.  It  is 
in  fact  an  aggressive  modern  type  of  tree.  Lyell  in 
his  "  Antiquity  of  Man"  speaks  of  it  as  follows:  "  In 
the  time  of  the  Romans  the  Danish  Isles  were  covered 
as  now  with  magnificent  Beech  forests.  Nowhere 
in  the  world  does  this  tree  flourish  more  luxuriously 
than  in  Denmark,  and  eighteen  centuries  seem  to 
have  done  little  or  nothing  toward  modifying  the 
character  of  the  forest  vegetation.  Yet  in  the  ante- 
cedent bronze  period  there  were  no  Beech-trees,  or 
at  most  but  a  few  stragglers,  the  country  being  then 
covered  with  Oak.  The  Scots  Pine  buried  in  the  old- 
est peat  in  Denmark  gave  place  at  length  to  the  Oak; 
and  the  Oak  after  flourishing  for  ages,  yielded  in  its 
turn  to  the  Beech;  the  periods  when  these  three 
forest  trees  predominated  in  succession  tallying 
pretty  nearly  with  the  ages  of  stone,  bronze,  and  iron 
in  Denmark." 

The  Common  Beech  {Fagus  sylvatica)  is  indigenous 
'57 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

to  England  and  in  western  Europe  as  far  east  as  about 
the  old  Russian  frontier  from  Norway  and  Sweden 
south  to  the  Mediterranean  and  reappears  in  the  Cri- 
mea. It  is  absent  from  Portugal  and  is  not  considered 
to  be  wild  in  Ireland  or  Scotland  though  it  probably  is 
in  the  southernmost  parts  of  the  latter  country.  Usu- 
ally it  forms  pure  forests  of  considerable  extent,  some 
of  the  finest  of  which  grow  on  the  northern  slopes  of 
the  Balkans  from  their  base  to  4,000  feet  altitude. 
Fossil  remains  of  the  Beech  have  been  found  in 
neolithic  deposits  in  the  Fen  districts  and  elsewhere 
in  England  and  in  the  pre-glacial  deposits  in  the 
Cromer  forest-bed.  Julius  Caesar  stated  that  Fagus 
did  not  occur  in  England;  but  apparently  the  tree 
he  meant  was  the  Chestnut  (Castanea).  Yet  the 
mistake  is  a  curious  one,  for  the  Roman,  Pliny,  de- 
scribed as  Fagus  a  tree  which  cannot  be  anything 
else  than  the  Common  Beech.  However,  the  Fagus 
of  the  Old  Greek  philosopher,  Theophrastus,  was 
undoubtedly  the  Chestnut,  and  Virgil's  statement 
that  Castanea  by  grafting  would  produce  fagos  seems 
to  indicate  that  the  name  Fagus  was  in  common  use 
among  the  Romans  for  the  Chestnut. 

In  all  there  are  ten  species  of  Beech  now  recognized, 

eight  of  which  are  growing  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum, 

and  it  is  doubtful  if  any  other  garden  is  so  fortunate. 

We  are  here  primarily  concerned  with  the  Common 

.58 


THE     EUROPEAN     BEECH 

Beech  but  it  is  not  out  of  place  to  say  a  word  or  two 
about  the  other  species.  They  all  have  the  same 
general  appearance  and  cannot  be  mistaken  for  any 
other  tree.  All  have  the  same  sort  of  thin,  firm, 
smooth,  light  gray  bark;  and  the  leafage,  and  the 
character  of  the  branches  and  their  disposition  is 
much  the  same.  They  differ  one  from  another  in  the 
shape  and  character  of  their  fruits  and  in  the  habit  of 
the  bole.  In  the  Common  Beech  the  bole  or  trunk  is 
single,  and  this  obtains  in  one  Japanese  (F.  japonica) 
and  one  Chinese  species  (F.  lucida).  In  another 
Japanese  species  (F.  Sieboldii)  and  in  the  Chinese 
F.  Engleriana  the  trunk  divides  at  or  near  the  base 
into  few  or  many  stems.  In  the  Dagelet  Island  F. 
multinervis  and  the  Chinese  F.  longipetiolata  the 
trunk  is  usually  single,  but  often  divides  near  the 
base  into  several  stems.  The  habit  of  the  rare  For- 
mosan  Beech  (F.  Hayatae)  is  unknown,  also  that  of 
the  Caucasian  F.  orientalis,  though  from  an  account 
I  have  read  of  the  latter  it  would  appear  to  have 
many  stems  like  the  Japanese  F.  Sieboldii  and  the 
Chinese  F.  Engleriana.  The  American  Beech  (F. 
grandijolia)  exhibits  even  greater  diversity  in  habit. 
Normally  it  has  a  solitary  trunk,  but  in  pastures 
and  places  where  the  roots  get  near  the  surface,  and 
are  consequently  exposed  and  damaged,  a  multitude 
of  suckers  (sprouts)  are  developed  which  grow  into 
•59 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

trees  and  form  a  dense  copse.  Near  the  foot  of  the 
Hemlock  Hill  by  the  collection  of  Arborvitae  and 
Yews  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum,  there  is  a  splendid 
example  of  this  type  of  growth  of  American  Beech. 

This  distribution  of  the  various  species  of  Beech  is 
remarkable,  and  is  a  good  illustration  of  the  isolation 
of  members  of  a  genus  which  I  referred  to  in  the  sec- 
ond chapter.  The  range  of  the  Common  Beech  has 
been  given.  The  American  Beech  is  distributed  from 
Nova  Scotia  to  the  northern  shores  of  Lake  Huron 
and  northern  Wisconsin;  south  to  western  Florida, 
west  to  southeastern  Missouri  and  Trinity  River, 
Texas.  It  grows  mixed  with  other  trees,  and  occa- 
sionally with  Yellow  Birch  makes  nearly  pure  woods. 
Outside  of  America  it  has  not  proved  amenable  to 
cultivation  and  in  Europe  only  a  few  small  examples 
exist.  In  Japan  Fagus  Sieboldii  grows  from  the 
southern  end  of  Hokkaido,  through  Hondo,  the  main 
island,  and  Shikoku,  to  Mt.  Kirishima  in  the  south  of 
Kyushu;  in  places  it  forms  pure  woods,  though  usually 
it  is  merely  the  dominant  tree  in  the  mixed  forests 
of  certain  zones  on  the  mountains.  The  other  Japa- 
nese Beech  (F.  japonica)  is  more  rare  and  I  have  seen 
it  only  in  the  Nikko  region  where  it  grows  mixed 
with  Siebold's  Beech  and  other  trees  at  from  3,500 
to  5,000  feet  altitude.  On  the  tiny  Dagelet  Island, 
a  lonely  spot  in  the  Japan  Sea  some  fifty  miles  from 
160 


THE     EUROPEAN     BEECH 

the  east  coast  of  central  Korea,  grows  an  endemic 
Beech  (F.  multinervis) ,  recently  discovered.  It  is 
quite  plentiful  in  forests  of  mixed  broad-leaf  trees  on 
volcanic  soil.  I  collected  a  number  of  small  plants 
but  the  time  was  early  June  and  I  failed  to  get  them 
to  America  in  a  living  condition.  No  Beech  grows 
in  Korea,  Manchuria,  eastern  Siberia,  nor  in  China 
until  the  central  provinces  are  reached.  But  there 
in  Hupeh,  Szechuan,  Kweichou,  and  Yunnan  three 
species  have  been  found,  in  fact  in  Yunnan,  in  about 
Lat.  230  N.,  the  Beech  finds  its  southern  limit.  In 
western  Hupeh  and  adjoining  parts  of  Szechuan  the 
three  species  grow  together,  though  F.  longipetiolata 
is  the  more  common  and  occurs  at  the  lowest  alti- 
tudes. These  three  Beeches  sorely  puzzled  me 
(though  really  they  are  as  distinct  as  they  possibly 
could  be)  and  it  was  not  until  the  eleventh  and  last 
year  of  my  travels  in  China  that  I  was  able  clearly  to 
distinguish  them.  They  were  successfully  trans- 
ported to  the  Arnold  Arboretum  where  I  am  happy 
to  say  they  are  all  growing  to-day.  The  Formosan 
Beech  (F.  Hayatae)  is  known  only  from  a  mountain 
in  the  heart  of  the  savage  country  where  I  was  not 
allowed  to  visit.  No  Beech  has  been  found  on  the 
vast  Himalayan  range,  and  this  is  rather  curious  since 
so  many  Chinese  types  have  their  western  limits  of 
distribution  in  Sikkim  and  Nepal.  The  tenth  and 
161 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

last  species  (F.  orientalis)  is  found  on  the  Caucasus,  in 
Asia  Minor,  and  in  northern  Persia;  the  Caucasus 
being  its  centre  of  distribution.  Of  these  ten  Beeches 
the  Dagelet  Island  and  Formosan  species  are  the 
only  ones  not  growing  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum. 

All  the  Beeches  are  lovely  trees  in  their  native 
haunts.  Their  wood  is  similar  and  makes  excellent 
fuel  but  is  not  much  esteemed  otherwise.  It  is  more 
used  in  France  perhaps  than  in  other  countries,  and 
in  parts  of  Buckinghamshire,  England,  where  the 
manufacture  of  Beech-wood  furniture  constitutes  a 
local  industry  of  some  importance. 

The  Common  Beech  is  the  only  kind  whose  merit 
as  a  planted  tree  is  properly  known,  and  it  is  one  of 
the  very  few  European  trees  that  thrives  in  eastern 
North  America.  It  will  grow  on  almost  any  soil 
except  pure  peat  and  heavy  clay,  but  prefers  dry  soil 
and  attains  its  greatest  perfection  on  calcareous  land 
or  on  deep  loam.  On  light,  sandy  soils,  the  bark  often 
splits  longitudinally,  and  the  trunks  singularly  re- 
semble those  of  Hornbeam  (Carpinus).  For  park 
and  lawn  the  Beech  is  a  most  worthy  tree,  pictur- 
esque, and  always  gives  satisfaction.  Very  many 
forms  are  recognized — the  Purple,  Copper,  Fern-leaf, 
and  Weeping  being  the  best  known — but  as  a  matter 
of  fact  the  Beech  is  more  prolific  in  varying  forms 
than  any  other  broad-leaf  tree.  Several  of  these 
162 


THE     EUROPEAN     BEECH 

variants  call  for  detailed  notice  hut  first  a  few  words 
on  the  usefulness  of  the  typical  form  are  necessary. 
The  Common  Beech  is  an  excellent  avenue  tree  pro- 
vided it  be  planted  thickly  but  is  perhaps  best  as  a 
screen  tree,  and  when  planted  to  form  pure  groves 
the  effect  is  perfect.  Owing  to  its  dense  branching 
habit  it  is  splendid  for  forming  tall,  narrow  hedges. 
Under  such  conditions  it  carries  its  leaves,  whose 
russet-brown  give  a  sense  of  warmth,  through  the 
winter.  Properly  clipped,  Beech  hedges  last  for  cen- 
turies, are  impenetrable  to  man  or  beast,  and  form  the 
finest  of  windbreaks.  In  Europe,  and  especially  in 
Belgium  and  England,  they  are  common.  The 
most  famous  Beech  hedge,  probably,  is  that  of 
Meikleour,  in  Perthshire,  Scotland.  It  is  claimed 
that  this  hedge  was  planted  in  1745,  and  that  the 
men  who  were  planting  it  left  their  work  to  fight  at 
the  battle  of  Culloden,  hiding  their  tools  under  the 
hedge,  and  never  returned  to  claim  them.  It  is  580 
yards  long  and  is  composed  of  tall,  straight  stems  set 
about  18  inches  apart  and  now  almost  touching 
at  their  base.  The  average  height  is  about  95  feet 
and  branched  from  the  ground  up.  This  hedge  is 
cut  periodically,  the  work  being  done  by  men  stand- 
ing on  a  long  ladder  from  which  they  are  able  to 
reach  with  shears  to  about  60  feet.  There  is  also  a 
Beech  hedge  at  Achnacarry,  on  the  estate  of  Cam- 
.63 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

eron  of  Lochiel,  the  history  of  which  is  even  more  re- 
markable. Here  in  171 5  the  trees  were  laid  in  slant- 
ingly ready  to  plant  when  the  men  were  called  away 
to  take  part  in  the  rebellion  of  that  year.  The  trees 
were  never  planted  and  have  grown  up  in  a  slanting 
position  close  together  just  as  they  were  left. 

There  are  in  England  many  fine  Beech  woods  cele- 
brated in  song  and  story,  the  most  famous  perhaps 
being  that  known  as  the  Burnham  Beeches,  situated 
some  25  miles  west  of  London  and  a  few  miles  from 
the  Royal  borough  of  Windsor.  This  remnant  of  the 
vast  forest  that  once  stretched  right  across  England 
from  the  Thames  to  the  Severn  covers  now  about 
226  acres.  In  1879  it  was  purchased  by  the  Corpora- 
tion of  London  and  is  a  worthy  memorial  to  the 
wise  discretion  and  public  spirit  of  the  city  fathers  of 
the  time.  The  age  of  these  venerable  Beeches  is 
unknown.  They  are  pollarded  trees  with  huge, 
burled  boles  and  far-spreading  umbrageous  crowns. 
'Neath  their  shade  the  poet  Gray,  author  of  the  im- 
mortal "Elegy,"  was  wont  to  sit  and  read  his  Virgil. 
Tradition  has  it  that  the  pollarding  was  done  by 
Cromwell's  soldiers,  but  much  more  likely  it  was 
the  overt  act  of  some  greedy  lord  of  the  manor  at  a 
more  remote  period  for  purposes  of  temporary  gain. 
But,  by  whomsoever  the  act  was  committed,  the 
efTect  has  been  remarkable  in  presenting  a  spectacle 
164 


THE     EUROPEAN     BEECH 

which,  taken  as  a  whole,  has  no  parallel  elsewhere  in 
the  British  Empire.  In  picturesque  beauty  the 
Burnham  Beeches  are  unique,  and  no  tree  lover 
should  miss  a  pilgrimage  when  opportunity  offers. 
It  is  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  since  I  paid  my 
humble  tribute  to  this  shrine  but  the  memory  of  that 
glorious  Saturday  afternoon  is  vivid  and  undimmed, 
notwithstanding  that  I  have  seen  the  forests'  glories 
of  half  the  world. 

In  Britain  grow  many  famous  Beech-trees,  but  none 
are  finer  than  those  in  Ashridge  Park,  Buckingham- 
shire, where  stands  the  majestic  Queen  Beech  fully 
135  feet  tall  with  a  trunk  straight  and  branchless 
for  about  80  feet.  Except  for  certain  Elms  this  is 
the  tallest  deciduous-leaved  tree  in  Great  Britain. 
Incidental  mention  has  been  made  of  the  self- 
layered  Beech  at  Newbattle  Abbey.  This  tree  is 
about  105  feet  high  and  21  \  feet  in  girth  of  trunk  at 
five  feet  from  the  ground,  and  has  a  total  circum- 
ference of  about  400  feet.  In  Windsor  Park,  the 
Royal  domain,  are  many  magnificent  Beech-trees. 
The  finest  is  near  Cranbourne  Tower  and  is  about 
125  feet  tall  with  a  fine,  clean  bole  15  feet  in  girth; 
near  the  Ascot  Gate  is  a  venerable  old  pollard  30  feet 
in  girth,  and  is  said  to  be  800  years  old.  Of  "inos- 
culated" Beeches  perhaps  the  finest  is  that  at  Castle 
Menzies,  Perthshire,  Scotland,  which  is  95  feet  high. 
.65 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

A  little  above  the  ground  it  is  forked  and  then  grown 
together  again  leaving  an  opening  through  which  a 
youth  can  pass. 

The  Purple  Beech  (F.  pylvatica  var.  purpurea)  is  in 
my  opinion  the  only  tree  with  coloured  leaves  worth 
planting.  One,  possibly  two,  but  not  more,  properly 
placed  near  a  house  or  buildings  with  plenty  of  open 
space  around  add  effective  dignity  to  the  surroundings. 
Unfortunately,  however,  the  use  of  this  tree  is  all  too 
frequently  abused.  The  Purple  Beech  is  a  natural  va- 
riety of  the  common  European  and  so  far  as  is  known 
all  of  them  in  cultivation  have  been  derived  from  a 
single  tree  discovered  in  the  1 8th  century  (and 
still  living)  in  the  Hanleiter  forest  near  Sondershausen 
in  Thuringia,  central  Germany.  Propagation  has 
been  effected  chiefly  by  grafting  and  to  a  less  extent 
by  seeds,  but  only  a  percentage  of  the  seedlings  come 
purple.  This  tree  grows  to  as  great  a  size  as  the  par- 
ent form  and  there  are  specimens  in  England  nearly 
ioo  feet  tall.  It  is  popularly  supposed  that  the 
Thuringian  tree  is  the  only  wild  Purple  Beech  known. 
This  is  not  so,  neither  is  that  tree  the  oldest  of  which 
records  exist,  but  it  is  the  mother  tree  of  those  culti- 
vated in  this  country  and  elsewhere.  Trees  of  the 
Purple  Beech  grow  wild  in  the  Tyrol  and  at  Buch, 
a  village  in  the  Canton  Zurich,  Switzerland,  three 
specimens,  growing  among  the  common  green-leaved 
1 66 


THE     EUROPEAN     BEECH 

type,  Oak,  and  other  trees,  have  been  written  about 
since  1680.  At  one  time  there  were  five  of  these  trees 
and  the  tradition  is  that  five  brothers  murdered  one 
another  on  this  spot,  and  five  blood-besprinkled  Beech- 
trees  sprang  up  as  righteous  testimony  from  God  as  a 
lasting  witness  to  so  horrible  a  deed.  The  armorial 
shield  of  the  village  bears  a  picture  of  a  Purple  Beech 
and  the  probability  is  that  its  name  of  Buch,  which  is 
the  German  for  Beech,  was  derived  from  these  trees. 

The  Copper  Beech  (var.  cuprea)  is  only  a  seedling 
form  of  the  Purple  kind  with  leaves  and  shoots  of  a 
lighter  colour.  It  originated  about  a  century  ago, 
presumably  in  England  where  there  are  specimens 
fully  90  feet  tall  and  15  feet  in  girth  of  trunk.  In 
the  sunshine  and  when  the  leaves  are  ruffled  by  a 
gentle  breeze  this  tree  is  strikingly  handsome.  There 
is  also  a  weeping  form  (var.  purpurea  pendula)  which  is 
of  slow  growth,  and  another  (var.  atropurpurea)  with 
leaves  darker  than  those  of  the  typical  Purple  Beech; 
also  a  var.  tricolor  with  leaves  dark  purplish  green, 
spotted  with  bright  pink  and  shaded  with  white. 

The  Fern-leaf  Beech  (var.  heterophylla)  has  rela- 
tively small,  variously  cut  green  leaves,  and  often 
hairy  twigs.  Its  origin  is  unknown.  At  Newport, 
Rhode  Island,  there  are  fine  specimens  of  this  dis- 
tinctly beautiful  tree.  In  England  it  is  known  to  have 
been  in  cultivation  for  a  century.  There  are  forms  of 
.67 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

this  Beech  designated  by  such  varietal  names  as  aspleni- 
folia,  comptoniaejolia,  incisa,  laciniata,  salicifolia,  etc., 
which  indicate  the  degrees  of  lacination  obtaining. 
Also  there  is  a  form  (var.  atropurpurea  Rohanii)  with  in- 
cised leaves  of  the  samehueasthoseoftheCopperBeech. 

The  Oak-leaf  Beech  (var.  quercoides)  has  long- 
stalked  leaves,  pointed  at  the  base,  with  long, 
drawn-out  apex  and  deeply  incised  margins  with  the 
individual  segments  pointed.  Other  forms  with 
green  leaves  are  the  Crested-leaf  Beech  (var.  cristaia 
or  crispa)  a  curious,  small  tree  with  small,  shortly 
stalked  leaves  crowded  into  dense  tufts  which  are 
scattered  at  intervals  on  the  branches;  var.  macro- 
phylla  with  very  large  leaves;  var.  rotundijolia  with 
small  round  leaves;  var.  grandidentata  with  conspicu- 
ously toothed  leaves,  and  several  others. 

The  Weeping  Beech  (var.  pendula)  has  the  main 
branches  very  irregularly  disposed  and  often  the 
outline  is  rugged.  Trees  of  this  Beech  may  be  tall 
and  slender,  or  low  and  broad,  or  quite  irregular 
according  to  the  direction  of  the  larger  branches 
which  may  grow  outward  or  upward  or  in  almost 
any  direction;  the  smaller  branches  only  are  uni- 
formly pendulous.  The  Weeping  Beech  is  a  nat- 
ural variety  and  has  been  found  wild  in  the  forest 
of  Brotonne  in  Seine-Inferieure,  France.  Other 
forms  of  pendulous  habit  are  var.  borneyensis,  which 
168 


THE     EUROPEAN     BEECH 

was  found  wild  in  the  forest  of  Borney,  near  Metz, 
and  is  said  to  have  all  the  lateral  and  subsidary 
branches  weeping;  var.  pagnyensis,  found  in  the  for- 
est of  Pagny,  Meurthe-et-Moselle,  France;  var. 
remillyensis  from  the  forest  of  Remilly,  near  Metz; 
and  var.  miltonensis,  with  only  moderately  pendu- 
lous branches,  found  wild  in  Milton  Park,  North- 
amptonshire, England. 

The  Parasol  Beech  (var.  tortuosa)  is  of  French  ori- 
gin having  been  found  in  the  forest  of  Verzy,  near 
Rheims,  and  elsewhere.  This  form  has  a  short, 
twisted  trunk  and  a  hemispherical  crown  with  all 
the  branches  directed  downward  and  often  touching 
the  ground.  It  is  seldom  more  than  10  feet  high 
and  more  curious  than  beautiful.  A  similar  form  was 
discovered  in  Ireland  some  thirty-five  years  ago. 

The  Fastigiate  Beech  (var.  dawyckii)  is  a  remark- 
able variety  with  all  the  branches  erect.  The  orig- 
inal tree  grows  at  Dawyck,  Peebleshire,  Scotland,  on 
the  estate  of  F.  R.  S.  Balfour,  Esq.  Finally  there 
are  forms  with  variously  variegated  leaves  of  no 
particular  merit,  and  the  Golden  Beech  (var.  -Jatia), 
discovered  in  Serbia  and  introduced  to  gardens  about 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  I  have  by  no  means  men- 
tioned all  the  known  forms,  but  enough  has  been 
said  to  show  the  adaptable  and  precocious  character 
of  the  Common  Beech. 

169 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

The  fruit  of  the  Beech  is  a  stalked  capsule  clothed 
with  simple,  pliant  prickles,  and  when  ripe  it  opens 
at  the  apex  into  four  divisions  and  sheds  the  two 
nuts  each  contains.  The  nut  is  sharply  3-angled,  is 
rich  in  oil  and  of  pleasant  flavour.  In  France,  and 
more  especially  in  former  times,  the  oil  is  expressed 
and  used  for  culinary  and  illuminating  purposes. 
The  nuts  are  greedily  eaten  by  wild  pigeons  and  other 
birds,  and  by  squirrels,  deer,  wild  pig,  and  other  ani- 
mals. 

The  Common  Morel  (Morchella  escidenta),  a  mush- 
room-like fungus  much  used  in  culinary  art  for  flav- 
ouring, grows  in  Beech  woods.  It  is  always  found  in 
the  spring,  and  in  France  and  Germany  the  gathering 
of  morels  is  quite  an  industry  among  the  peasantry. 
But  more  esteemed  by  the  gourmet  is  the  Truffle 
{Tuber  cibarium)  which  grows  on  the  roots  of  the 
Beech.  This  fungus  is  subterranean  in  habit  and 
never  appears  above  the  ground.  It  is  black,  of 
irregular  shape,  about  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg,  covered 
with  warty  excrescences,  and  possesses  a  very  strong 
but  agreeable  odour.  It  matures  in  the  month  of 
October,  and  the  flesh  is  brown  veined  with  white. 
It  is  generally  found  by  pigs  and  dogs  trained  to 
search  for  it.  Though  by  no  means  confined  thereto 
France  supplies  commercially  the  bulk  of  the  truffles 
of  the  world. 

170 


CHAPTER    XI 

OUR    NUT    TREES 


CHAPTER    X  I 
OUR    NUT    TREES 

EVERY  tree  bears  fruit  and  the  fruits  are  much 
diversified  in  form  and  appearance.  In  the 
Birch  it  is  a  cylindrical  catkin  which  disin- 
tegrates and  allows  the  seeds  to  be  scattered  by  the 
wind;  in  the  Willow  and  Poplar  it  is  also  a  slender 
catkin  which  opens  and  the  seeds  with  their  tuft  of 
fluffy  hairs  are  carried  long  distances  by  the  air  cur- 
rents. In  the  Elm  the  fruit  is  a  light,  winged  vesicle 
adapted  for  wind  transportation,  and  in  the  Maple 
it  is  a  two-winged  keylike  affair  also  disseminated  by 
the  wind.  In  the  Crabapple  family  and  others  it  is 
pulpy  and  attractive  to  birds  and  animals  who  eat 
the  fruit  but  do  not  digest  the  seeds  which  are 
ejected  in  their  excrement,  usually  at  some  distance 
from  the  parent  trees.  In  the  Chestnut  it  is  a  spiny 
burr  which  clings  to  the  furry  coats  of  animals  and 
is  thus  distributed.  In  the  Walnut  and  Hickory  it 
is  a  globose  structure  having  a  thin  outer  coat  con- 
taining an  unpalatable  bitter  principle  and  a  hard- 
shelled  nut  within.  Trees  producing  dry  or  winged 
173 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

fruits  or  fruits  containing  winged  seeds,  and  those 
with  succulent  fruits  containing  small  seeds  are  best 
adapted  for  distribution,  and  in  the  Northern  Hemi- 
sphere they  are  the  most  abundant  types.  The 
Oak,  strange  as  it  may  sound,  is  much  distributed  by 
water-fowl  that  swallow  the  acorns  and  eject  them 
whole.  All  nut-like  fruits  are  much  sought  after  by 
squirrels  and  other  rodents  who  store  them  and  thus 
help  to  distribute  them,  for  though  they  take  heavy 
toll  they  seldom  devour  all.  Nevertheless,  trees 
which  bear  a  nut-fruit  are  handicapped  in  the  strug- 
gle for  existence,  and  sometimes  one  thinks  that 
Mother  Nature  made  a  mistake  when  she  evolved 
this  particular  kind  of  fruit.  However,  man,  as 
well  as  rodents,  should  be  thankful  for  some  of  these 
fruits  supply  him  with  wholesome  food. 

In  the  case  of  succulent  fruits  man  has  from  the 
dim  and  distant  early  days  striven  to  improve  their 
size  and  flavour,  and  his  efforts  have  been  abun- 
dantly rewarded.  In  a  subsequent  chapter  I  treat  of 
these  so  we  may  dismiss  them  for  the  moment.  With 
nut-fruits  the  story  is  different  though  undoubtedly 
primitive  man  ate  the  acorn,  walnut,  hazel-nut, 
hickory,  pecan,  and  pine-nut  long  before  he  did 
succulent  fruits. 

The  acorn  has  fallen  into  disfavour  though  that  of 
Quercus  ballota  is  still  eaten  by  the  peasants  in  Spain 
i74 


OUR    NUT    TREES 

as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Don  Quixote.  The  North 
American  Indians  also  eat  the  acorns  of  certain  Oaks, 
but  so  far  as  American  people  are  concerned  the 
acorn  will  never  come  back  as  an  article  of  food.  The 
nuts  of  the  European  and  some  other  Beech-trees  are 
of  fair  size,  sweet  and  good  flavoured  but  are  eaten 
only  sparingly  by  the  peasantry.  The  seeds  of  the 
Swiss  Pine  (Pinus  cembra)  are  eaten  in  Europe,  and 
in  Siberia  they  are  a  very  important  article  of  food. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  Korean  Nut-pine  (P.  kor- 
aiensis).  The  kernels  of  the  seeds  of  this  Pine  mixed 
with  honey  make  a  delicious  sweetmeat.  In  western 
North  America  and  in  Mexico  the  seeds  of  several 
species  of  Pine  are  eaten,  including  those  of  the 
Sugar-pine  (P.  Lambertiana). 

I  have  earlier  stated  that  the  Ginkgo  is  probably 
the  oldest  cultivated  nut-tree  and  its  history  sup- 
ports the  statement.  The  European  Hazel-nut  has 
been  improved  and  such  forms  as  the  Cob  and  Filbert 
established;  probably  the  European  Walnut  (Juglans 
regia)  has  also  been  subject  to  like  treatment,  but 
for  all  practical  purposes  selection  and  cross-breeding 
among  nut-fruits  has  only  quite  recently  begun  to 
receive  attention.  To-day,  and  especially  in  this 
country,  the  culture  and  breeding  of  nut-trees 
are  beginning  to  receive  some  attention  and  the  future 
will  see  a  tremendous  advance  in  this  work.  In  every 
175 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

case  it  is  the  fleshy  kernel  which  is  sought  after, 
and  so  for  the  present  it  is  not  necessary  to  confine 
ourselves  to  strict  botanical  morphology.  It  will 
include  any  edible  kernel,  whether  it  be  part  of  the 
seed  as  in  the  Ginkgo  or  of  a  fruit  as  in  the  Hazel- 
nut, and  whether  the  outer  covering  be  hard  and  woody 
as  in  the  Walnut  or  thin  and  fibrous  as  in  the  Chestnut. 
The  most  valuable  and  most  used  nut  in  the  world 
is  the  Cocoa-nut,  the  product  of  a  maritime  Palm 
(Cocos  nucifera),  probably  of  South  American  origin 
and  now  cosmopolitan  within  the  tropics  of  both 
hemispheres.  Many  other  nut-trees  grow  within 
the  tropics  but  few  only  find  their  way  into  our 
markets.  The  Brazil-nut  (Bertholetia  excelsa)  is 
familiar  to  all,  and  in  recent  years  the  Pili-nut 
(Canarium  commune)  from  the  Philippines  has  been 
not  uncommon  in  city  stores  in  this  country.  But 
this  resume  deals  with  those  that  grow  in  north 
temperate  lands  the  number  of  which  is  quite  lim- 
ited. The  most  important  of  these  are  the  Walnuts 
of  which  if  we  include  Butternuts  there  are  about  a 
dozen  species  (some  of  them  doubtful),  one  natural 
variety,  and  several  hybrids.  In  Mexico  and  South 
America  there  are  several  others  but  they  are  little 
known.  The  most  important  is  the  European  Wal- 
nut (Juglans  regia),  the  classical  "Jovis  glans"  and 
the  "Nux"  of  Greek  poets.  It  grows  wild  in  Greece, 
176 


OUR     NUT    TREES 

Bosnia,  the  Balkan  peninsula  and  eastward  through 
Asia  Minor,  the  Caucasus,  Persia  to  Afghanistan  and 
on  the  Himalayas  of  Kashmir,  and  northward  to  near 
Bokhara  and  Ladak.  From  western  Asia  it  was 
long,  long  ago  carried  to  China  where  it  is  abun- 
dantly cultivated  throughout  the  cooler  parts  of  that 
land  and  here  and  there  naturalized.  From  China 
it  has  been  taken  to  south  Manchuria  and  Korea, 
where  it  is  abundant,  and  to  Japan  where  it  is  only 
sparingly  cultivated.  Also,  it  is  much  cultivated 
throughout  the  temperate  region  of  the  Himalayas. 
It  is  grown  in  quantity  in  all  but  the  coldest  countries 
of  Europe,  likewise  in  this  country,  and  especially 
in  California.  In  the  temperate  regions  of  the 
Southern  Hemisphere  it  is  also  grown.  No  other 
northern  nut-tree  has  been  so  widely  planted,  and  no 
other  nut  is  so  much  appreciated  as  an  article  of  food 
in  temperate  lands.  It  is  one  of  the  very  few  exotic 
economic  trees  cultivated  in  the  Orient  where  its  nut 
is  vastly  esteemed.  An  important  desideratum  is  a 
type  of  this  Walnut  which  would  be  perfectly  hardy 
in  northern  New  England.  A  few  trees  are  known 
around  Boston,  Mass.,  and  a  few  miles  to  the  north- 
ward, but  properly  speaking  the  tree  is  not  hardy 
here.  From  the  colder  parts  of  western  China  I 
sent  seeds  in  the  hope  of  securing  a  perfectly  hardy 
type,  but  I  am  not  sanguine.  The  resultant  trees 
'77 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

have  grown  fairly  well  but  have  suffered  slightly 
nearly  every  winter. 

The  European  Walnut  is  one  of  the  noblest  of 
northern  trees,  at  its  best  it  grows  a  hundred  feet  tall 
with  a  broad,  rounded  crown  of  massive  branches  and 
a  bold,  often  gnarled,  trunk  fully  20  feet  in  girth. 
Through  long  and  wide  cultivation  many  varieties 
have  originated  and  the  nuts  vary  much  in  size, 
shape,  sculpturing,  and  thickness  of  shell.  The 
most  superior  kinds  have  a  thin  shell  and  are  fully 
2\  inches  in  diameter.  By  careful  selection  it  is 
possible  that  even  greater  improvement  will  result. 
A  very  interesting  variety  and  one  that  deserves  to 
be  better  known  is  praeparturiens,  which  originated 
in  the  nursery  of  Louis  Chatenay  at  Doue-la-Fon- 
taine,  France,  about  1830.  Monsieur  Chatenay 
found  among  a  batch  of  seedlings  of  J.  regia  three 
years  old  an  individual  plant  which  bore  fruit.  This 
variety  was  propagated  and  put  on  the  market  by 
M.  Janin  of  Paris.  The  nuts  are  generally  thin- 
shelled  and  though  small  of  good  flavour.  It  is 
necessary  to  propagate  this  variety  vegetatively 
since  it  does  not  breed  true  from  seeds.  In  the 
garden  of  Professor  Sargent,  Brookline,  Mass.,  there 
is  a  supposed  plant  of  this  variety  but  it  is  a  tree  40 
feet  tall;  this  tree  fruits  freely  and  is  quite  hardy. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of  other  varieties,  but  of 
178 


ATTAINS     I  II  I      DIMENSION 
\    I  R  I  I     I  20   I   I  .  HIGH    IN  CI 

'rylus   cbinei 


EASTERN     AND    WESTERN 
HAZ1  LS 


i|   i    i  II I     COMMON    H  \/ 1  l     IS     \ 
LOW    BUSH 

■  .his  Avella 


JAPANESE     WALNL 


GROWING     IN    THE     ARNOLD    ARBORETUM 

(  Juglans   Sieboldiana ) 


OUR     NUT    TREES 

the  hybrids  I  shall  have  something  to  say  later.  I 
believe  that  in  this  country  the  best  results  will  be 
obtained  by  hybridizing  /.  regia  with  the  Japanese 
J.  Sieholdiana  and  its  variety  cordiformis,  which  are 
hardier,  and  the  importance  of  this  fact  cannot  be 
over-estimated.  What  is  needed  is  a  hardier  race 
of  thin-shelled  Walnuts.  From  the  viewpoint  of 
nut-fruits  the  next  important  Walnut  is  the  Japanese 
J.  Sieholdiana,  which  is  quite  a  recent  introduction 
to  the  west.  It  was  first  introduced  into  Leyden, 
Holland,  about  1864  by  Von  Siebold,  and  from  there 
to  France  in  1866.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe 
that  it  was  introduced  into  this  country  by  Dr.  G.  R. 
Hall  in  1862,  but  the  largest  tree  I  know  of  is  in  the 
Arnold  Arboretum  where  it  was  raised  from  seeds 
received  from  France  in  1879.  In  Japan  the  Walnut 
is  known  as  "Kurume"  and  is  distributed  from  the 
south  to  the  bitterly  cold  regions  of  central  Hok- 
kaido. The  Kurume  grows  in  moist  forests  and  is  a 
much  smaller  tree  than  its  European  relative.  The 
fruit  is  borne  in  long  racemes,  and  the  nuts  are  ovoid 
or  globose,  rounded  at  the  base  and  pointed  at  the 
apex,  very  slightly  wrinkled  and  pitted,  not  ribbed, 
and  rather  thick-shelled. 

Much  cultivated  in  central  Japan  is  the  variety 
cordiformis,  characterized  by  its  heart-shaped,  much- 
flattened,  sharply   two-edged   nut  which   is  smooth 
179 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

and  rather  thin-shelled.  In  Japan  there  are  two 
well-marked  forms  of  the  type  and  intermediate 
ones  which  connect  it  with  the  parent  species  J. 
Sieboldiana.  Raised  from  seed  the  var.  cordiformis 
cannot  be  depended  upon  to  come  true,  for  many 
revert  to  the  wild  type.  The  Black  Walnut  (J.  nigra) 
is  a  magnificent  tree  producing  valuable  timber 
but  its  nut  is  small,  has  a  very  hard  shell,  and 
is  of  little  economic  value.  The  Texan  Walnut  (J. 
rupestris)  is  a  tree  of  quite  moderate  size  and  bears 
small  nuts  of  no  particular  use.  The  two  Califor- 
nian  Walnuts  (J.  calijornica  and  J.  Hindsii)  are 
large  trees  but  their  fruits  are  poor.  The  Formosan 
species  (J.  jormosana)  is  a  large  tree  but  the  fruit  is 
small  and,  moreover,  the  plant  will  be  hardy  only  in 
the  warmer  parts  of  this  country.  It  is  growing  in 
the  greenhouses  of  the  Arnold  Arboretum  from  seeds 
I  gathered  in  191 8. 

The  other  species  of  Juglans  to  be  considered  are 
best  classed  as  Butternuts,  and  the  best  known  and 
most  valuable  is  the  American  J.  cinerea.  This  is  a 
tree  occasionally  100  feet  tall  and  10  feet  in  girth  of 
trunk  with  a  broad,  round-topped  crown,  and  is  dis- 
tributed in  eastern  North  America,  from  the  valley 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  River  southward.  It  was  in- 
troduced into  England  with  the  Black  Walnut  as 
long  ago  as  the  middle  of  the  17th  century.  The 
180 


OUR     NUT    TREES 

ovoid,  pointed,  8-ribbed  nut  has  a  thick  shell  but 
the  flesh  within  is  sweet.  The  Chinese  J.  cathay- 
ensis  is  a  bush  or  slender  tree  with  a  small,  very  rough 
nut  of  no  particular  value.  It  has  not  proved  very 
hardy  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum.  I  introduced  it 
first  to  England  in  1903  and  to  this  country  in  1908. 
The  Manchurian  J.  mandshnrica  rivals  the  American 
Butternut  in  size  and  the  nut  shows  a  decided  ap- 
proach to  that  of  the  true  Walnuts.  The  shell  is  very 
thick  and  the  flesh  limited  in  quantity.  It  is  a  com- 
mon tree  in  the  forests  of  Korea  and  is  very  hardy. 
The  little-known  J .  stenocarpa  of  Russian  Manchuria 
is  only  a  form  of  J.  mandsburica. 

Having  dealt  with  all  the  species  of  Juglans  within 
our  province  it  remains  to  say  a  word  or  two  about 
the  hybrids  though  none  of  them  is  valuable  for  the 
nuts.  A  supposed  hybrid  between  the  American  /. 
nigra  and  /.  cinerea  was  described  as  long  ago  as  1857 
from  a  tree  in  the  Botanic  Garden  at  Marburg  in 
Germany.  The  other  hybrids,  and  there  are  sev- 
eral, are  between  the  European  Walnut  (J.  regid)  and 
the  American  species.  One  of  these  is  a  cross  be- 
tween J.  regia  and  J.  nigra  and  known  as  J.  intermedia 
var.  Vilmoreana.  This  originated  at  Verrieres  les 
Buisson,  near  Paris,  about  1805.  The  original  tree  is 
now  nearly  100  feet  tall  and  10  feet  in  girth;  in  bark, 
branchlets,  and  buds  it  is  intermediate,  but  in  habit 
181 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

and  nut  it  resembles  the  Black  Walnut.  Another 
hybrid  of  the  same  parentage  is  J.  intermedia  var. 
pyriformis  which  has  pear-shaped  fruits. 

Of  J.  intermedia  there  is  on  Rowes  Farm,  James 
River,  opposite  Brandon,  Va.,  a  magnificent  speci- 
men which  must  rank  with  the  largest  Walnut-trees 
known  anywhere;  the  trunk  at  two  feet  from  the 
ground  measures  more  than  31  feet  and  at  6J  feet, 
25  feet  in  girth.  The  spread  of  branches  is  enor- 
mous but  the  height  I  have  not  been  able  to 
ascertain. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Boston,  Mass.,  a  number 
of  trees  of  J.  regia  x  J.  cinerea  are  known.  The  name 
of  this  hybrid  is  /.  quadrangulata.  In  California 
are  grown  several  hybrids  between  /.  regia  and  /. 
Hindsii,  one  of  them,  which  Burbank  claims  to  have 
originated,  is  named  "Paradox."  Another  which 
Burbank  calls  the  "Royal"  is  said  to  be  also  a  cross 
between  /.  nigra  and  /.  Hindsii,  and  to  fruit  freely. 
I  know  nothing  about  the  value  of  the  nuts.  All 
these  hybrid  Walnuts  are  fast-growing,  handsome 
trees  and  like  the  species  the  wood  of  all  is  valuable. 
However,  for  nuts  the  breeder  will  do  well  to  stick  to 
the  European  and  to  the  Japanese  species  and  its 
variety.  By  intermingling  these  valuable  and  more 
hardy  races  of  Walnuts  will  result. 

The  most  famous  and  oldest  cultivated  nut-tree 
182 


AMERICAN    CHESTNU1 
Is     II      VCT1    \l  M      DISAPPEARING 


COMMON    FRUITS    WHICH    TAKE    US    BACK    INTO 
ANCIENT    DAYS 


THE  PEACH 
THE  PEAR 


THE  PLUM 
THE  QUINCE 


OUR    NUT    TREES 

native  of  this  country  is  of  course  the  Pecan  (Carya 
pecan),  which  grows  wild  in  western  Mississippi,  in 
parts  of  Louisiana,  Oklahoma,  and  Texas.  The 
latest  authorities  consider  that  it  was  planted  by  the 
Indians  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  elsewhere,  and 
it  is  therefore  not  easy  to  determine  the  natural  dis- 
tribution of  this  tree.  The  Caryas  are  among  the 
noblest  trees  of  North  America  and  furnish  tough 
and  valuable  timber.  A  few  years  ago  a  species  (C. 
cathayensis)  was  discovered  in  eastern  China  but  up  to 
that  time  the  genus  was  considered  peculiarly  North 
American.  The  Pecan  probably  exceeds  all  other 
species  in  size,  and  in  rich  alluvial  soils  trees  175  feet 
tall  by  16  feet  in  girth  of  trunk  often  occur.  In  the 
Arnold  Arboretum  there  is  one  healthy  young  Pecan- 
tree  which  is  one  of  our  proudest  possessions  for  its 
hardiness  is  a  surprise  to  us.  In  this  connection  it 
is  necessary  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  Pecan  is  a 
Southern  tree  which  cannot  be  expected  to  be  hardy 
in  the  cold  Northern  states.  There  is  a  wide  region 
in  this  country  where  Pecans  can  be  successfully 
grown  but  it  is  not  New  England  nor  any  of  the  cold 
Northern  or  Middle-West  states.  If  intending  nut 
growers  will  properly  appreciate  this  fact  it  will  save 
them  money  and  disappointment.  Pecan-nuts  are 
too  well-known  to  need  description  here.  They  are 
variable  in  size,  and  the  best  forms  are  about  2! 
183 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

inches  long  and  i  inch  broad  and  have  a  thin  red- 
brown  shell  and  a  sweet-flavoured  reddish-brown 
kernel.  They  are  borne  in  clusters  of  from  three  to 
twelve,  each  is  contained  within  a  thin,  brittle,  dark 
brown,  4-angled  husk  which  is  coated  with  yellow  hairs 
and  when  ripe  splits  nearly  to  the  base.  The  next  in 
importance  is  the  Shagbark  Hickory  (C.  ovoid)  which 
is  distinguished  by  its  thin-shelled  nut,  its  leaves 
of  five,  rarely  seven,  leaflets,  its  scaly  bark,  and  other 
less  obvious  characters.  It  is  a  Northern  tree  being 
distributed  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Montreal  and 
southern  Minnesota  southward  to  the  Carolinas,  east 
central  Mississippi,  southern  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  and 
eastern  Texas,  where  it  is  rare.  It  is  common  in  the 
New  England  and  other  Northern  states  and  in  Liv- 
ingston County,  western  New  York,  a  natural  hybrid 
between  it  and  the  Kingnut  (C.  laciniosa)  named  C. 
Dunbarii  occurs.  There  are  several  varieties  of  the 
Shagbark  distinguished  by  the  shape  of  their  leaves 
or  fruit.  In  the  typical  form  the  fruit  is  short-oblong 
to  sub-globose  and  depressed  at  the  apex.  There  are 
a  number  of  named  selected  forms  of  this  Hickory 
valued  for  the  size  and  quality  of  their  nuts.  Of 
much  potential  value  is  C.  Laneyi  a  natural  hybrid 
between  the  Bitternut  C.  cordiformis  and  C.  ovata. 
It  has  a  nut  with  the  thin  shell  of  the  Bitternut 
and  the  large,  sweet  kernel  of  the  Shagbark  Hickory 
184 


OUR    NUT    TREES 

and  as  the  shell  is  so  thin  the  kernel  is  larger  than 
that  usually  produced  by  the  Shagbark.  The  nut 
of  this  hybrid  keeps  remarkably  well,  and  C.  Laneyi 
is  probably  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  all  Hickory- 
nuts  which  have  been  found.  The  type  tree  grows 
in  the  Riverview  Cemetery,  Rochester,  N.  Y., 
and  it  is  fitting  that  this  interesting  hybrid  should 
have  been  named  for  the  capable  Superintendent  of 
the  Park  system  of  that  city. 

A  third  species  of  Carya  is  C.  laciniosa  the  Kingnut 
or  Big  Shellbark.  This  is  essentially  a  tree  of  the 
central  states,  being  particularly  abundant  in  the 
river  swamps  of  central  Missouri  and  of  the  Ohio 
basin.  It  exceeds  ioo  feet  in  height  by  10  feet  in 
girth  of  trunk.  The  fruit  is  solitary  or  in  pairs, 
about  2  inches  long  with  a  hard,  woody  shell;  the 
nut  is  compressed,  four-to-six-ridged  with  a  bony 
shell  and  a  light  brown,  sweet  kernel. 

The  Shagbark  and  the  Kingnut  are,  as  nut  trees, 
the  most  important  of  the  fifteen  species  of  Carya 
now  recognized  in  this  country.  In  several  others 
the  kernels  are  sweet  though  the  nuts  are  small. 
Seven  natural  hybrids  have  received  names  and  there 
are  probably  others  yet  to  be  distinguished.  In  the 
hands  of  the  hybridist  other  superior  forms  will 
assuredly  appear. 

The  Hickories  and  the  Pecan  are  easily  raised  from 
185 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

seeds  but  the  seedlings  develop  long,  thick  tap-roots 
and  in  consequence  are  difficult  to  transplant.  The 
best  plan  is  to  sow  the  nuts  and  leave  the  seedlings 
to  develop  in  situ.  The  better  varieties  are  in- 
creased by  grafting  and  budding  and  old  trees  can 
be  headed-back  and  top-worked  in  a  satisfactory  man- 
ner in  the  warmer  states.  In  the  North  the  propa- 
gation is  more  difficult  but  yearly  it  is  becoming  bet- 
ter understood  and  in  time  will  probably  become  as 
easy  as  that  of  the  Apple  and  Peach.  In  the  Arnold 
Arboretum  the  Bitternut  (C.  cordijormis)  has  been 
found  to  be  the  best  stock.  The  work  is  done 
under  glass  in  January  and  side-grafting  close  to  the 
collar  of  the  stock  is  favoured.  The  pecan  industry 
is  of  course  well  established  in  the  warmer  states  but 
it  can  never  become  profitable  in  New  England  nor  in 
the  colder  parts  of  this  country.  But  there  seems  to  be 
no  reason  why  Hickory  orchards  cannot  be  successfully 
established  in  regions  where  the  Pecan  is  not 
hardy. 

To  write  of  the  Chestnuts  when  those  in  this  coun- 
try are  fast  disappearing  through  disease  is  not  a  pleas- 
ant task.  No  cure  has  been  found  for  this  fatal  disease, 
and  it  looks  as  if  in  a  few  years  one  of  the  valuable  tim- 
ber trees  in  eastern  North  America  will  have  vanished. 
It  is  sad,  but  we  may  as  well  realize  that  it  cannot  be 
helped.  Thousands,  yes,  billions,  of  types  have  risen 
186 


OUR    NUT    TREES 

and  disappeared  since  first  organic  development  be- 
gan, and  the  fittest  only  survive.  The  Chestnut 
blight  is  a  new  and  deadly  thing  in  this  country, 
but  it  is  an  old  pest  in  the  Orient.  In  Korea 
it  has  existed  beyond  the  memory  of  the  oldest  in- 
habitant yet  there  are  to-day  millions  of  Chestnut- 
trees  in  Korea,  where  the  nut  is  a  staple  article  of 
food.  The  same  is  true  of  Manchuria,  but  in  Japan 
theblightappears  to  beacomparatively  recent  visitant 
and  is  deadly.  I  n  Korea  and  Manchuria  the  older  and 
larger  trees  are  more  resistant  than  saplings.  Doubt- 
less the  Chestnut  blight  (Diaportba  parasitica) 
a  fungus— rages  in  a  cycle  and  when  the  zenith  of  the 
curve  is  reached  decreases  in  virulence.  Let  us 
heartily  hope  that  this  zenith  may  be  reached  while 
yet  a  goodly  number  of  trees  remain  to  us.  Mean- 
while, the  hybridist  should  be  busy  endeavouring  to 
breed  Chestnuts  immune  to  the  blight.  Some  good 
work  in  this  direction  has  been  done  by  Dr.  Van 
Fleet,  at  Washington,  D.  C,  working  with  the  Chin- 
quapin (Castanea  pumila)  and  an  Asiatic  species, 
but  it  is  desirable  that  additional  workers  take  up 
the  burden  for  the  task  is  heavy. 

The  fruit  of  all  the  Chestnuts,  and  there  are  eight 

species,  is  edible.     In  eastern  Asia  grow  four  species, 

in  this  country  three,  and  in  southern  Europe,  Asia 

Minor,  the  Caucasus,  and  northern  Persia  one  species. 

187 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

There  is  a  strong  family  likeness  among  all  the  Chest- 
nuts, so  much  so  that  many  botanists  have  united  them 
all  into  one  species,  but  the  eight  species  may  be  dis- 
tinguished by  the  absence  or  presence  and  distribu- 
tion of  minute,  scale-like  glands  and  of  hairs  on  the 
leaves,  and  by  other  less  obvious  technical  characters. 
The  European  (C.  sativa)  is  the  best  known  and  the 
most  famous  of  all  Chestnuts  but  unfortunately  it  is 
not  hardy  in  the  colder  parts  of  this  country.  It  is 
much  cultivated  in  Italy,  Spain,  and  France,  where 
the  nut  is  a  staple  article  of  food.  In  England  the 
Chestnut  has  been  widely  planted  but  except  in  a  few 
favoured  localities  the  fruit  does  not  properly  mature. 
This  Chestnut  is  one  of  the  largest  and  noblest  of 
European  trees;  it  is  indeed  the  largest  of  the  genus 
and  trees  ioo  feet  tall  and  20  feet  in  girth  of  trunk 
with  a  wide-spreading  crown  of  massive  branches  are 
not  uncommon.  The  nuts  are  usually  three  in  each 
spiny,  round  husk,  occasionally  more,  sometimes  one 
only.  There  are  many  garden  varieties  and  some 
with  a  very  large-sized  nut  are  grown  in  Madeira. 

Rivalling  in  size  of  nut  the  European  species  is  the 
Japanese  C.  crenata,  wide-spread  in  Japan  and  in 
Korea.  1 1  is  hardier  than  the  European  Chestnut  but 
is  prone  to  disease.  1 1  is  not  a  very  large  tree  but  some 
of  the  named  sorts  like  "Tamba"  or  "Mammoth" 
have  huge  nuts  but  the  flavour  is  rather  inferior. 
188 


OUR    NUT    TREES 

The  type  and  the  best  known  varieties  have  been 
introduced  into  this  country.  The  trees  grow  rapidly 
and  fruit  at  a  comparatively  early  age,  and  it  is 
regrettable  that  they  are  not  more  disease  resistant. 
More  valuable  is  a  Chinese  Chestnut  (C  mollis- 
sima)  introduced  into  this  country  from  Peking  by 
Professor  Sargent  in  1903.  The  nut  is  rather  smaller 
than  those  of  the  preceding  species  but  is  sweet  and 
of  excellent  flavour.  It  is  a  tree  of  moderate  size, 
wide-spread  in  China  from  east  to  west  and  north- 
ward into  Manchuria.  It  is  cultivated  in  northwest 
Korea  and  is  esteemed  above  the  native  species. 
Long,  shaggy  hairs  on  the  shoot  distinguish  this 
species  from  all  others.  Though  subject  to  Chestnut 
blight  in  the  Orient  this  species  seems  to  be  immune 
or  nearly  so  in  this  country,  and  this  combined  with 
its  hardiness  makes  it  a  most  useful  tree  for  culti- 
vating and  breeding  purposes  here.  The  largest  of 
the  Asiatic  Chestnuts  is  C.  Henryana,  which  is  occa- 
sionally 100  feet  tall  and  18  feet  in  girth  of  trunk  and 
is  characterized  by  having  normally  a  solitary,  ovoid 
nut  in  each  spiny  husk.  The  leaves  are  smooth, 
without  glands,  and  the  lateral  nerves  project  beyond 
the  margin  in  long,  hair-like  points;  the  petioles  and 
shoots  are  quite  smooth  and  dark  coloured.  The 
nut,  though  small,  is  very  sweet  and  of  most  excellent 
flavour.  It  is  common  in  central  and  western  China, 
189 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

growing  in  mixed  forests  on  the  higher  mountains. 
I  introduced  it  in  1907  to  the  Arnold  Arboretum 
where  it  has  proved  quite  hardy. 

We  need  say  nothing  here  about  the  American  C. 
dentata  but  a  passing  word  is  due  the  Chinquapin  or 
shrubby  Chestnut  (C  pumila) .  This  bush  or  small  tree 
is  distributed  from  southern  Pennsylvania  to  north- 
ern Florida  and  westward  to  southern  Arkansas  and 
eastern  Texas.  It  bears  usually  in  each  husk  a  single 
nut  which  though  very  small  is  sweet  and  good  to 
eat.  This  species  in  the  hands  of  the  hybridists  may 
be  the  progenitor  of  a  race  of  Bush-chestnuts  of 
great  value  for  orchards.  As  before  mentioned 
Doctor  Van  Fleet  has  already  made  some  very  prom- 
ising crosses.  There  is  no  reason  why  future  genera- 
tions should  not  have  a  strain  of  Bush-chestnuts 
bearing  fruits  as  large  as  the  European  and  Japanese 
kinds,  and  as  hardy  and  as  sweet  in  flavour  as  the 
Chinese.  In  the  southeastern  United  States,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  coast,  from  North  Carolina  to 
western  Florida  and  west  to  Louisiana  grows  the  dwarf 
C.  alnifolia  in  which  the  husk  is  only  sparingly  clad  with 
spines.  This  is  a  shrub  or  low  tree  from  10  to  30  feet 
tall.  There  is  in  China  a  Bush-chestnut  (C.  Seguinii) 
which  ought  to  be  re-introduced  into  our  gardens.  It 
has  long  been  known  and  Robert  Fortune  introduced 
it  into  England  in  the  fifties  of  the  last  century, 
190 


THE    AI'RICOI     IN    CHINA,     WHI-.RE    IT    IS    A     NATIV1 


K 

1 

►« 

fiji 

^Sfi 

Ej^;v3S|fi 

v  flKa 

i  M- ;  «™H 

yumc 

$$'$$&¥ 

OUR    NUT    TREES 

but  it  seems  to  have  soon  become  lost  and  its  value 
unappreciated.  I  introduced  it  into  the  Arnold  Arbor- 
etum in  1907,  but  the  plants  were  afterward  destroyed 
by  a  grass-fire  caused  by  a  careless  visitor.  This 
Chestnut  is  abundant  on  the  hills  throughout  the 
Yangtsze  Valley  and  there  should  be  no  difficulty 
in  securing  seeds  though  they  travel  badly.  It 
forms  a  bush  from  10  to  18  feet  high  and  is  sometimes 
a  small  tree;  the  husk  contains  from  three  to  six 
small  nuts  which  have  a  peculiarly  sweet  and  pleas- 
ant flavour.  I  never  saw  it  attacked  by  the  Chest- 
nut blight.  Summing  up  the  question  of  the  Chest- 
nuts it  would  appear  that  in  hybridizing  the  large- 
fruited  tree-forms  with  the  three  bush-forms  there 
is  a  field  of  much  promise. 

The  genus  Corylus  which  yields  the  hazel-nuts  is 
spread  throughout  the  Northern  Hemisphere.  Some 
twelve  species  and  several  varieties  are  known, 
three  species  in  this  country,  four  in  eastern  Asia, 
two  on  the  Himalayas,  three  in  Europe  and  Asia 
Minor.  Three  of  them  (C.  colurna,  C.  Jacquemontii, 
and  C.  chinensis)  are  large  trees,  the  others  are 
best  described  as  large  busjies  though  occasionally 
they  form  small  trees.  The  Chinese  C.  chinensis 
is  a  very  large  tree  and  I  have  a  vivid  recollection  of 
one  giant,  growing  in  central  China,  fully  120  feet 
tall  and  18  feet  in  girth  of  trunk  with  a  broad  oval 
191 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

crown.  The  nuts  of  all  the  species  are  edible  but  in 
the  tree-species  the  shell  is  very  thick.  For  orchard 
culture  the  European  C.  Avellana  only  has  so  far 
received  attention.  This  is  much  grown  in  Italy, 
Spain,  France,  and  the  county  of  Kent  in  England, 
but  the  bulk  of  the  nuts  in  commerce  are  shipped  from 
the  Spanish  port  of  Barcelona,  hence  the  name  Bar- 
celona nut.  This  species  is  wild  in  the  hedge-rows 
and  coppices  of  Europe,  and  nuts  of  the  wild  plants  are 
excellent  eating  and  in  England  are  much  sought  after 
by  country-people.  According  to  French  authori- 
ties the  nuts  of  Provence  and  Italy  are  preferable  to 
those  of  Spain  and  the  Levant.  A  number  of  varie- 
ties are  grown  and  in  France  the  better  kinds  are 
called  "Avelenes."  The  best  are  known  as  Full- 
beards  or  Filberts  and  Cob-nuts.  The  first-named 
have  a  long  nut  enclosed  within  the  long,  tubular 
husk  which  is  contracted  above  the  apex  of  the  nut. 
There  are  several  forms  differing  in  the  shape  of  the 
nuts  and  the  relative  length  of  their  husks.  The 
red  and  white  filberts  are  similar  in  external  appear- 
ance but  in  the  former  the  pellicle  which  covers  the 
kernel  is  red  and  in  the  latter  pale  gray-brown. 
Both  are  much  grown  in  Kent,  England,  and  are 
esteemed  because  they  admit  of  being  kept  fresh  in 
the  husks.  According  to  the  books  the  filbert  was 
first  known  from  Pontus  on  the  Asia  Minor  shores  of 
192 


OUR    NUT    TREES 

the  Black  Sea,  and  was  known  to  the  ancient  Greeks  as 
"Nux  pontica."  The  cob-nuts  are  short  and  round- 
ish and  have  a  thick  shell,  the  most  familiar  being 
the  Barcelona  nuts  of  commerce.  A  form  with  large 
nuts  is  known  in  England  as  the  "Kentish  Cob." 

Some  consider  the  cob-nuts  to  belong  to  a  separate 
species  known  as  C.  pontica  but  this  seems  to  be 
doubtful.  The  other  European  species  (C.  maxima) 
is  a  large  shrub  confined  to  southern  Europe  and  has  a 
husk  contracted  above  the  apex  of  the  nut  into  a 
short  tube.  A  recent  view  is  that  the  Filberts  are 
hybrids  between  this  and  C.  Avellana.  There  is  also 
a  hybrid  between  the  common  C.  Avellana  and  C. 
colurna  (C  intermedia)  which  has  been  known  in 
Europe  since  about  1836  but  is  still  rare.  It  is 
fairly  intermediate  in  character  though  the  nut  is 
more  like  that  of  C.  colurna. 

Of  the  three  American  species  C.  rostrata  is  most 
widely  spread  and  grows  throughout  Canada  from 
the  east  coast  to  British  Columbia,  and  in  this  coun- 
try as  far  south  as  Virginia  and  west  to  Minnesota. 
It  is  a  bush  of  moderate  height  producing  suckers 
freely;  the  husk  completely  encloses  the  nut  and  is 
contracted  beyond  into  a  long  tube.  Another  species 
(C.  californica)  grows  in  Colorado  and  westward 
through  northern  California,  Oregon,  and  Wash- 
ington, and  differs  in  having  the  husk  terminate  in  a 
"93 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

very  short  tube.  The  remaining  species  (C.  ameri- 
cana)  has  a  roundish  nut  contained  in  an  open  husk 
with  jagged  almost  fringed  margins.  This  is  a  broad 
shrub,  from  5  to  12  feet  tall,  distributed  from  New 
England  southward  to  West  Virginia  and  westward  to 
Mississippi,  Arkansas,  and  South  Dakota.  These 
native  species  of  Hazel-nut  have  been  neglected  and 
ought  to  be  taken  in  hand  for  orchard  culture.  The 
three  Tree-hazels  all  have  roundish  nuts  with  thick, 
hard  shells  and  small  kernels  and  need  to  be  much 
improved  before  they  have  value  as  nut-trees.  The 
Himalayan  C.  ferox  and  the  Chinese  C.  tibetica  have 
spiny  husks  resembling  those  of  the  Chestnut  and 
are  unpromising  subjects  for  the  nut  growers. 

The  two  Bush-hazels  of  eastern  Asia  (C.  heter- 
opbylla  and  C.  Sieboldii),  each  of  which  has  several 
recognized  varieties,  are  worthy  of  passing  notice. 
Both  are  hardy  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum  and  will 
some  day  play  a  part  in  nut  culture  in  this  country. 
The  first  has  leaves  variable  in  shape,  as  its  name 
indicates,  and  an  equally  variable  husk  which  is 
laciniated  and  often  crested  but  open  at  the  summit 
exposing  the  roundish,  thick-shelled  nut.  It  is  a  low 
bush,  seldom  more  than  6  feet  high  and  usually  less, 
which  suckers  freely  and  is  a  particular  feature  of  open 
mountain  slopes  in  Korea.  It  is  also  widespread 
in  Japan,  the  Amur  region,  Manchuria,  and  north- 
194 


OUR    NUT    TREES 

ern  China.  In  central  and  western  China  it  is  repre- 
sented by  the  varieties  sutcbuenensis  and  yunnanensis 
which  are  large  bushes  often  20  feet  tall  and  differing 
in  technical  characters.  The  other  species  (C.  Sie- 
holdii)  resembles  the  American  C.  rostrata  in  that  the 
husk  completely  encloses  the  nut  and,  moreover, 
is  contracted  above  the  apex  of  the  nut  into  a  narrow 
tube  which  is  often  twice  as  long  as  the  nut  itself. 
Several  varieties,  based  largely  on  the  length  and 
shape  of  the  husk,  have  been  distinguished.  On 
Quelpaert,  a  volcanic  island  off  the  south  coast  of 
Korea,  grows  a  small-fruited  form  in  which  the  husk 
is  contracted  into  a  very  short  beak.  This  has  been 
named  C.  hallaisanensis.  Siebold's  Hazel  is  a  large 
bush,  similar  in  habit  and  foliage  to  the  European 
C.  Avellana  and  is  widely  distributed  in  Japan  and 
on  the  mainland  of  eastern  Asia  westward  to  the 
Chino-Thibetan  borderland. 

Lastly,  mention  may  be  made  of  the  Almond 
(Prunus  Amygdahts),  a  tree  closely  related  to  the 
Peach  and  Apricot,  native  of  Persia  and  Asia  Minor. 
In  Syria  and  in  southern  Europe,  especially  in  Spain, 
and  also  in  California,  it  is  much  cultivated  for  the 
kernels  of  its  fruits  which  constitute  the  almonds  of 
commerce.  There  are  many  varieties  mainly  dis- 
tinguished by  the  thickness  of  the  shell  enclosing  the 
kernel. 

'95 


CHAPTER    XII 
OUR    COMMON    FRUIT    TREES 


CHAPTER    XI  I 
OUR    COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

THE  origin  of  our  common  fruit  trees  is  lost 
in  the  dust  of  antiquity.  Some — the  Dam- 
son, for  example — can  be  traced  in  old  Greek 
literature  back  to  the  sixth  century  before  Christ. 
But  they  are  much  older  for  charred  remains  of  the 
Apple  and  stones  of  the  Bullace  (Yellow  Plum)  have 
been  found  in  the  pre-historic  lake-dwellings  of 
Switzerland.  They  are,  of  course,  the  oldest  trees 
cultivated  by  man,  and  did  we  know  just  where  the 
human  race  had  its  cradle  we  might  be  a  little  more 
sure  of  the  birthplace  of  our  Plums,  Apples,  Pears, 
and  Cherries.  Books  generally  make  them  of  Eur- 
asian origin  giving  their  distribution  as  from  south- 
eastern Europe,  the  Asiatic  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  the 
Caucasus,  Persia  to  Kashmir,  and  north  to  Bokhara. 
Doubtless  this  vast  and  vague  area  includes  the 
home  of  some  of  our  fruit  trees  but  there  is  nothing 
definitely  known.  Possibly  some  of  them,  like  the 
common  Plum,  were  first  cultivated  on  the  shores  of 
the  Caspian  Sea  and  on  the  plains  of  Turan  where  the 
Huns,  Turks,  Mongols,  and  Tartars,  flowing  back 
>99 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

and  forth  in  tides  of  war-like  migration,  maintained 
in  times  of  peace  a  crude  agriculture  long  before  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  tilled  the  soil.  All  that  can 
be  definitely  stated  to-day  is  that  our  common  fruit 
trees  are  native  of  those  parts  of  the  Old  World  west 
of  the  highlands  of  central  Asia.  In  North  America 
grow  wild  more  species  of  true  Plums  than  are  found 
in  Europe  and  Asia,  but  the  cultivation  of  none  was 
attempted  until  early  in  the  19th  century,  and  even 
to-day  their  true  worth  is  not  sufficiently  appreci- 
ated. The  native  Apples  and  Cherries  of  this 
country  have  to  date  no  value  as  fruit  trees,  and 
America's  only  contribution  to  the  fruit  trees  of  the 
world  are  her  Plums.  So  small  a  part  do  these  play 
even  in  American  orchards  that  it  is  correct  to  write 
that  this  country  owes  all  her  fruit  trees  to  Europe 
and  Asia.  Indeed,  the  introduction  of  these  trees 
began  with  the  earliest  settlers.  In  Massachusetts 
some  were  planted  by  the  Pilgrims,  for  Francis  Hig- 
ginson,  writing  in  1629,  says:  "Our  Governor  hath 
already  planted  mulberries,  plums,  raspberries,  cor- 
rance,  chestnuts,  filberts,  walnuts,  smalnuts,  and 
hurtleberries."  John  Josselyn,  writing  of  a  voyage 
to  New  England  in  1663,  says:  "the  Quinces,  Cher- 
ries, and  Damsons  set  the  dames  a  work,  marmalade 
and  preserved  Damsons  are  to  be  met  with  in  every 
house."     In  the  voyages  undertaken  for  exploration 


OUR     COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

and  commerce  soon  after  the  discovery  of  America 
by  Columbus  the  Peach  was  introduced  by  the  Span- 
iards, for  immediately  after  permanent  settlement 
had  been  made  in  the  South  the  settlers  found  this 
fruit  in  widespread  cultivation  by  the  Indians,  and 
its  origin  could  only  be  traced  to  the  Spaniards  who 
early  visited  Florida  and  the  Gulf  region.  As  early 
as  1682  William  Penn  wrote,  ''there  are  very  good 
peaches  in  Pennsylvania,  not  an  Indian  plantation 
is  without  them." 

In  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  during  the  course  of 
ages,  two  forms  of  civilization  have  developed.  They 
are  commonly  expressed  as  that  of  the  west  and  of  the 
east ;  i.e.,  that  of  Europe  and  that  of  eastern  Asia  whose 
dominant  factor  has  been  China.  So,  too,  have  two 
distinct  stocks  of  fruit  trees.  There  is  the  Eurasian 
group  of  apples,  pears,  plums,  and  cherries  and  there 
is  the  Chinese  group  of  these  same  fruits.  They  are 
separate  and  distinct  one  from  another,  and  have 
been  evolved  independently  from  the  wild  species 
found  in  areas  separated  by  the  high  table-land  of 
central  Asia.  This  important  fact  has  only  quite 
recently  been  properly  established.  It  has  been  my 
privilege  and  good  fortune  to  discover  in  China  and 
Korea  the  wild  types  of  the  apples,  pears,  cherries, 
and  plums  of  the  Orient.  The  Peach  is  of  Chinese 
origin  and  probably  the  Apricot  also,  though  there 
201 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

is  still  doubt  about  the  real  home  of  the  latter.  The 
peach  and  apricot  have  been  grown  in  this  country 
since  the  early  times  of  settlers;  the  oriental  plum, 
under  the  name  of  the  Japanese  Plum,  for  about  half 
a  century,  but  the  pears,  apples,  and  cherries  of  the 
Orient  have  scarcely  received  any  attention  here. 

Since  the  wild  habitat  of  certain  of  our  fruit  trees  is 
not  clearly  known  it  will  occasion  no  surprise  to  learn 
that  botanists  differ  in  opinion  as  to  the  species  to 
which  some  of  our  domesticated  fruits  belong.  Natur- 
ally they  have  become  so  vastly  changed  under  long 
cultivation  that  they  bear  but  a  remote  resemblance 
to  their  ancestral  forms.  Another  fact  that  adds  enor- 
mously to  the  difficulty  is  that  the  parts  of  Europe, 
western  Asia,  and  the  Orient  where  they  are  supposed 
to  have  had  their  home  have  changed  completely 
under  long,  if  intermittent,  practice  of  agricultural 
husbandry.  The  ravages  of  a  thousand  wars,  the 
migration  to  and  fro  of  peoples  down  the  ages  have 
likewise  profoundly  influenced  the  problem.  In  the 
case  of  the  Common  Apple  and  the  Domestica  Plums 
it  is  doubtful  if  we  shall  ever  be  absolutely  sure  of  the 
original  habitat  and  identity  of  the  wild  types. 
Crabapples,  or  reversions  toward  the  wild  type  or 
types,  are  found  everywhere  in  the  world  where 
Apples  have  been  long  cultivated,  and  casual  ob- 
servers have  concluded  that  they  are  truly  wild 
202 


OUR    COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

whereas  "naturalized"  is  the  correct  term  to  employ. 
In  this  connection  it  must  be  confessed  that  often  it  is 
well-nigh  impossible  to  distinguish  between  natur- 
alized and  spontaneous  plants.  Let  us  take  the  case 
of  the  Common  Apple.  Loudon  in  his  "Arboretum 
et  Fruticetum  Britannicum,"  1 1,  894,  says,  "the  Apple 
grows  spontaneously  in  every  part  of  Europe  except 
the  torrid  zone.  It  is  found  throughout  western 
Asia.  ...  In  the  north  of  Europe  it  is  found  as 
far  west  as  Finland  in  Lat.  620;  in  Sweden  in  Lat.  580 
or  590;  in  central  Russia  to  55°or6o°.  In  Britain,  the 
Apple  is  found  in  a  wild  state  in  hedges,  and  on 
the  margins  of  woods,  as  far  north  as  Morayshire.  It 
is  found  wild  in   Ireland,  but  it  is  rare  there." 

The  latest  authority  as  represented  by  Bailey's 
"Standard  Cyclopedia  American  Horticulture,"  V.  2870 
(19 1 6),  gives  southeastern  Europe  to  western  Asia 
as  the  home  of  the  principal,  or  supposed  principal, 
parent  of  the  Apple  and  western  and  central  Europe 
for  its  other  and  lesser  parent.  The  Apple,  accord- 
ing to  the  best  authorities,  was  introduced  into 
France  and  Britain  by  the  Romans,  as  was  also  the 
Pear;  and  like  that  fruit  probably  reintroduced  by 
religious  houses  on  their  establishment,  after  the 
introduction  of  Christianity.  Others  claim  that  the 
Apple  was  to  the  Druids  a  sacred  or  semi-sacred  tree, 
that  it  was  cultivated  in  Britain  from  the  earliest 
203 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

ages,  and  that  Glastonbury  was  called  Apple  Orchard, 
from  the  great  quantity  of  apples  grown  there  pre- 
vious to  the  arrival  of  the  Romans. 

The  Apple-tree  is  mentioned  by  Theophrastus  and 
Herodotus,  and  is  also  distinguished  by  legends  in  the 
mythologies  of  the  Greeks,  the  Scandinavians,  and 
the  Druids.  Hercules  was  worshipped  by  the  The- 
bans  under  the  name  of  Melius,  and  apples  were 
offered  at  his  altars.  The  ancient  Welsh  bards  were 
rewarded  for  excelling  in  song  by  "the  token  of  the 
Apple  spray."  In  the  apple-growing  parts  of  Eng- 
gland  many  quaint  ceremonies  were  in  olden  times 
practised.  In  Devonshire  on  Christmas  Eve  the 
farmers  and  their  men  used  to  take  in  state  to  the 
orchard  a  large  bowl  of  cider  with  toast  in  it,  and 
salute  the  Apple-trees  with  much  ceremony  in  order  to 
induce  them  to  bear  well  the  next  season.  The 
farmer  and  his  men  each  took  an  oblation  of  the 
cider,  threw  some  of  it  about  the  roots  of  the  tree, 
placing  bits  of  toast  on  the  branches;  then  forming 
themselves  round  the  most  fruitful  Apple-tree  sang: 

Here's  to  thee,  old  Apple-tree, 
Whence  thou  mayst  bud,  and  whence  thou  mayst  blow; 
And  whence  thou  mayst  bear  apples  enow. 

Hats  full!    caps  full! 

Bushel-bushel-sacks  full ! 

And  my  pockets  full,  too! 

Huzza! 

204 


OUR    COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

In  other  parts  of  the  country  this  ceremony  took 
place  on  Twelfth-Night-Eve,  and  roasted  apples 
took  the  place  of  toast.  The  song  varied  somewhat 
in  different  parts  of  the  country  but  everywhere 
fecundity  was  invoked.  Putting  roasted  apples 
in  ale  was  another  old  English  custom.  Shakes- 
peare alludes  to  it  in  "Midsummer  Night's  Dream" 
where  Puck  says: 

Sometimes  1  lurk  in  a  gossip's  bowl, 

In  very  likeness  of  a  roasted  crab; 
And,  when  she  drinks,  against  her  lips  I  bob, 

And  on  her  wither'd  dewlap  pour  the  ale. 

But  a  large  volume  would  be  required  to  record  the 
folk-lore  and  facts  that  have  accumulated  round  our 
premier  fruit  and  then  much  would  perforce  be 
omitted. 

The  species  now  considered  the  principal  parent 
of  our  favourite  orchard  fruit  is  known  as  Malus 
pumila,  and  is  characterized  by  having  its  branchlets, 
leaves,  inflorescence,  and  sepals  covered  with  woolly 
hairs.  It  is  considered  to  be  wild  from  southeastern 
Europe  to  the  Caucasus.  Another  species  from  which 
a  few  kinds  of  apple  have  been  derived  is  M.  syl- 
vestris,  which  is  nearly  smooth  and  hairless  in  all  its 
parts,  and  is  regarded  as  indigenous  in  western  and 
central  Europe.  The  apples  of  the  Orient  have  been 
205 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

derived  from  M.  prnnijolia  var.  rinki  which  grows 
wild  on  the  margins  of  woods  and  on  the  banks  of 
mountain  torrents  in  Hupeh,  central  China,  where  I 
discovered  it  in  1907.  In  habit,  general  appearance, 
and  flowers  it  resembles  M.  pumila,  but  the  fruit-stalk 
is  much  longer  and  more  slender,  and  the  fruit,  which 
is  small,  is  not  impressed  at  the  apex  but  has  the 
calyx  raised,  thickened,  and  fleshy  at  the  base.  When 
the  Chinese  first  began  to  cultivate  the  apple  is 
not  known,  but  it  was  long,  long  ago.  From  China 
it  has  been  introduced  to  Korea  and  Japan  where, 
however,  it  is  fast  being  displaced  by  apples  of  the 
European  type  introduced  from  America.  The 
Chinese  apple  is  small,  ripens  early,  is  greenish 
to  greenish-yellow  and  is  rosy  on  one  side;  occasion- 
ally it  is  nearly  all  red;  the  flavour  is  pleasant  and 
bitter-sweet.  It  ripens  its  fruit  in  the  hot,  moist 
Yangtsze  Valley  round  Ichang  in  July,  and  on  the 
mountains,  where  the  climate  is  severe,  in  early 
September.  As  a  fruit  it  has  no  particular  value  to 
recommend  it  to  Western  gardens  but  since  it  thrives 
under  extremes  of  climate  it  may  be  useful  to  the 
hybridist. 

The  history  of  the  Common  Pear  closely  parallels 

that  of  our  Apple  but  there  is  much  less  folk-lore 

gathered  round  it.     In  Britain,  until  about  a  century 

ago,  it  was  more  valued  for  making  Perry  than  for 

206 


OUR     COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

dessert.  In  fact,  many  of  the  best  varieties  were 
originated  in  France  and  Belgium,  especially  in 
gardens  attached  to  religious  establishments  of  which 
Louvain  was  among  the  chief,  and  were  introduced 
into  general  cultivation  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo. 
The  Pear  is  less  hardy  than  the  Apple,  and  in  Eng- 
land the  better  sorts  are  grown  against  walls  and  on 
sheltered  trellises.  The  Common  Pear  is  mentioned 
by  the  earliest  writers  as  common  in  Syria  and 
Greece,  and  from  the  latter  country  it  appears  to 
have  been  brought  to  Italy.  The  Romans  intro- 
duced it  into  France  and  Britain,  and  it  was  brought 
to  this  country  by  the  early  settlers.  Theophras- 
tus  speaks  of  the  productiveness  of  the  old  Pear- 
tree,  and  Virgil  mentions  some  pears  which  he  re- 
ceived from  Cato.  Pliny  in  his  fifteenth  book  describes 
the  varieties  in  cultivation  in  his  time  as  being  exceed- 
ingly numerous.  In  Gerard's  time  the  Katherine 
Pear,  a  small,  red,  early  sort,  was  considered  the  best, 
and  it  remained  a  market  variety  in  England  down  to 
about  1840. 

The  parent  of  our  pears  is  undoubtedly  of  Eur- 
asian origin,  being  found  over  a  considerable  portion 
of  Europe  and  eastward  to  the  Caucasus  and  northern 
Persia,  but  it  is  difficult  to  tell  between  naturalized 
escapes  from  cultivation  and  true  wildlings.  A 
variety  (cordata)  sometimes  regarded  as  a  distinct 
207 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

species  is  indigenous  to  western  France  and  Eng- 
land, and  has  a  round,  or  slightly  turbinate,  fruit 
about  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  Pear  in  a  wild 
and  naturalized  state  is  pyramidal  in  habit  and  is 
armed  with  spines. 

The  pears  of  the  Orient  are  flattened  and  depressed 
top  and  bottom  like  our  apples  and  not  of  the  famil- 
iar pear-shape;  a  few  are  egg-shaped.  They  are  very 
firm  and  gritty  in  texture,  rich  in  a  sweet  watery  juice, 
and  one  group  is  generally  known  as  Sand  Pears.  At 
present  it  is  certain  that  two  species  (Pyrus  serotina 
and  P.  ussuriensis)  have  been  concerned  in  their 
evolution,  but  whether  other  species  have  played  a 
part  or  whether  there  are  hybrids  between  the  above- 
named  species  has  yet  to  be  determined.  Much 
attention  is  now  being  given  in  parts  of  this  country 
to  these  Pears  for  stock  on  which  to  work  our 
own  Pears  and  for  breeding  purposes.  We  are 
entirely  without  knowledge  as  to  how  long  the 
Chinese  have  cultivated  their  Pears  but  three  thou- 
sand years  is  not  an  exaggerated  estimate.  The 
Sand  Pear  was  introduced  into  Japan  more  than  a 
thousand  years  ago  and  is  very  extensively  culti- 
vated there  to  this  day  for  the  Japanese,  like  the 
Koreans  and  Chinese,  prefer  them  to  our  pears. 

The  Sand  Pears,  of  which  there  are  brown-  and 
green-skinned  kinds,  are  characterized  by  the  ab- 
208 


OUR     COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

sence  of  the  calyx.  They  have  apparently  all  been 
derived  from  P.  serotina,  a  common  wild  tree  in  the 
woods  on  the  mountains  of  the  province  of  Hupeh  in 
central  China,  where  I  discovered  it  in  1900  and  in- 
troduced it  into  the  Arnold  Arboretum  in  1909. 
Though  widely  cultivated  over  the  greater  part  of 
China,  Korea,  and  Japan  it  has  not  been  found  wild 
except  in  central  China.  The  other  species  (P. 
ussuriensis)  is  more  northern,  being  abundant  in 
central  and  northern  Korea,  and  in  Manchuria  also; 
it  has  recently  been  found  wild  in  Japan  in  the  region 
around  Mt.  Fuji,  and  on  the  mountains  of  Shinano 
province  in  mid-Japan.  In  this  species  the  skin  is 
green,  russet-green,  or  rosy;  the  calyx  is  usually  per- 
sistent but  sometimes  it  is  deciduous.  Many  varie- 
ties of  this  Pear  are  grown  in  Korea  and  Manchuria, 
and  in  the  more  northern  parts  of  China.  Around 
Peking  a  variety  having  a  delicious  little  apple- 
shaped  pear  of  a  pale  yellow  colour  is  much  grown 
and  is  known  as  the  White  Pear.  In  parts  of  Japan 
it  is  called  the  Stone  Pear  and  is  not  esteemed. 
There  are  a  few  hybrids  between  the  Sand  Pear 
and  the  European  Pear  the  best  known  being  the 
KiefTer  and  Le  Comte. 

There  are  many  other  species  of  Pear-trees  in  Eur- 
asia and  the  Orient  which  some  day  may  be  found  of 
value  in  the  pear  industry  in  Western  lands.     One 
209 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

(P.  Calleryana),  with  minute  fruits,  which  I  intro- 
duced to  the  Arnold  Arboretum  from  central  China 
in  1909,  is  already  achieving  prominence  as  the 
most  resistant  to  the  dreaded  Pear  blight  of  all  the 
species  and  in  consequence  a  valuable  stock  on  which 
to  work  our  garden  Pears. 

The  Quince  (Cydonia  vulgaris)  is  nowadays  more 
esteemed  in  New  England  than  in  Britain.  A  low 
tree  with  tortuous,  rambling  branches,  and  considered 
native  of  southern  France  and  central  Europe,  it  was 
known  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans  and  by  both  nations 
held  in  high  esteem.  By  the  ancients  it  was  con- 
sidered the  emblem  of  love,  happiness,  and  fruitfulness 
and  was  dedicated  to  Venus.  The  nuptial  chambers 
of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  were  decorated  with  the 
fruit,  and  the  bride  and  bridegroom  also  ate  it  as 
soon  as  the  marriage  ceremony  was  performed.  In 
eastern  Asia  grow  three  species  of  Quince  but  their 
fruits  are  of  little  value;  they  are,  however,  very 
decorative  garden  plants.  Another  old  fruit  tree 
seldom  seen  nowadays  is  the  Medlar  (Mespilus 
germanica)  whose  fruit  is  not  eaten  until  it  is  in  a 
state  of  incipient  decay,  when  it  is  very  agreeable  to 
some  palates. 

Now  let  us  consider  the  stone-fruits  which,  like  the 
preceding,  all  belong  to  the  great  Rose  family.  At 
the  head  of  these  stands  the  Peach  (Prunus  persica) 
210 


ill  I    KKI  IS     AM)      M'l'l   I   S 


BOTH    --Will     AND    SOUR    CHERRIES    Ol     I  >  I   K    \\  I  S  I  I  K  \     t .  \  K  DE  NS 
COME    FROM    I  III     I    \s  |  .       oi    R     M'l'l  I  -   COM  I     FROM    I  ill    (    \i  (    VSI   S 


A    CHINESE     PEAR    AT    HOME 


PARENT    OF    THE    SAND    PEARS    OF    THE    ORIENT 

(Pyrns   serotina) 


OUR    COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

which,  as  previously  stated,  was  introduced  to  this 
country  by  the  Spaniards  soon  after  Columbus's  time. 
The  Romans,  during  the  reign  of  the  Emperor 
Claudius,  received  the  Peach  from  Persia  and  for 
centuries  it  was  considered  native  of  that  country 
and  received  a  specific  name  to  that  effect.  Present- 
day  authorities,  however,  are  pretty  well  agreed  that 
its  real  home  is  China,  though  undisputable  wild  trees 
have  never  been  discovered.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
found  naturalized  over  the  greater  part  of  China 
where  it  has  been  cultivated  for  its  fruit  as  far  back 
as  records  go.  In  Chinese  folk-lore,  in  arts  such  as 
porcelain-ware,  wood-carving,  embroidery,  and  paint- 
ing it  figures  largely.  Personally,  I  think  there  can 
be  no  doubt  about  its  Chinese  origin,  and  am  con- 
vinced that  it  reached  Persia  and  the  Caspian  region 
through  seeds  carried  by  the  old  trade-route  across 
central  Asia.  In  China  are  grown  to-day  freestone 
and  clingstone  varieties  with  white,  reddish,  or  yellow 
flesh;  also  a  curious  variety  having  the  fruit  com- 
pressed top  and  bottom  and  known  as  the  "pien-tao" 
or  flat  peach.  The  Smooth-skinned  Peach  or  Necta- 
rine likewise  is  of  Chinese  origin  and  seems  to  prefer 
a  rather  warm  climate.  It  is  much  grown  in  northern 
Formosa.  From  China  the  Peach  was  long  ago 
taken  to  Korea  and  to  Japan  where  to-day  a  great 
many  local  varieties  are  cultivated.     Into  France  and 

211 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Britain  it  was  introduced  by  the  Romans,  but  in 
England  it  was  not  much  cultivated  before  the  16th 
century.  The  Spanish  introduced  it  into  South  Amer- 
ica. It  has  been  planted  in  the  more  temperate  parts 
of  Africa  (the  famous  missionary-traveller,  Livings- 
ton, planted  it  by  the  Victoria  Falls  on  the  Zambesi 
River),  and  in  Australasia;  indeed,  no  fruit  tree  is 
now  more  widely  grown.  There  is  no  need  to  tell 
of  the  importance  of  the  Peach  industry  in  this 
country,  where  probably  high-class  fruit  is  produced 
in  greater  quantity  than  in  any  other  land,  but  a 
real  desideratum  is  a  Peach  "bud  hardy"  in  northern 
New  England.  I  think  there  is  a  possibility  of 
this  being  found  through  the  medium  of  the  Peach 
which  is  semi-wild  on  the  mountains  west  of  Peking. 
Two  other  species  of  Peach  grow  wild  in  China, 
namely,  P.  Davidiana  and  P.  mira.  The  first-named 
is  native  of  the  cold  northern  provinces  of  China  and 
although  the  fruit  is  of  no  value  the  plant  is  favoured 
in  parts  of  this  country  as  a  stock  for  varieties  of  the 
Common  Peach.  The  other  is  native  of  the  alpine 
regions  of  the  Chino-Thibetan  borderland,  where  I 
discovered  it.  It  has  a  palatable  white-fleshed  fruit 
and  an  exceedingly  small,  perfectly  smooth  stone.  I 
had  high  hopes  of  it  being  useful  to  the  hybridist 
when  introducing  it  to  the  Arnold  Arboretum  in 
1908,  but  apparently  its  alpine  character  is  against 


OUR    COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

its  successful  acclimatization.  By  analogy  it  ought 
to  be  very  hardy  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  with  us  it 
has  suffered  badly  each  winter. 

The  Apricot  (Prunus  Armeniacd)  is  another  fruit- 
tree  whose  specific  name  is  a  geographical  misnomer. 
Originally  considered  native  of  the  Caucasus  and 
Armenia  it  is  now  pretty  generally  accepted  as  being 
of  Chinese  origin.  Its  history  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
Peach.  The  Romans  cultivated  it  and  it  is  described 
by  Pliny  and  Dioscorides.  To  France  and  England 
it  was  almost  certainly  carried  by  the  Romans 
though  the  first  mention  of  its  being  in  England  is  in 
Turner's  "Herbal"  published  in  1562.  In  China  I 
know  it  only  as  a  cultivated  tree  but  many  travellers 
have  seen  it  wild  in  the  northern  provinces.  It  is 
much  grown  in  Korea  and,  though  I  have  not  yet 
had  time  critically  to  compare  the  material,  I  am  in- 
clined to  think  that  an  Apricot  I  gathered  on  cliffs 
in  northern  Korea,  and  unquestionably  wild  there,  rep- 
resents this  species.  It  may,  however,  belong  to 
P.  sibirica,  by  some  considered  merely  a  variety  of 
P.  Armeniaca.  In  Japan  the  Apricot  is  much  cul- 
tivated, and  the  fruit  is  pickled  and  eaten  as  a  relish. 
Its  Japanese  name  is  "ansu"  and  there  are  many 
beautiful  garden  forms  with  white,  pink,  to  rose-red 
single  and  double  flowers.  In  Afghanistan  and 
other  regions  of  the  northwestern  Himalayas  the  fruit 
213 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

is  preserved  by  sun-drying,  and  dried  apricots  are 
an  article  of  commerce  in  High  Asia  and  Thibet.  I 
have  eaten  fruits  of  such  origin  in  the  frontier  town 
of  Tachien-lu,  situated  on  the  Chino-Thibetan 
borderland.  Apricots  make  a  delicious  preserve 
and  to  my  thinking  are  very  much  better  as  jam  than 
as  fresh  fruit. 

In  central  Korea  the  Manchurian  Apricot  (P. 
mandshitricd)  is  a  common  wild  tree  and  grows  to  a 
very  large  size.  Its  fruit  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
Common  Apricot  but  the  leaves  differ  and  its  bark 
is  thick,  corky,  black  outside  and  red  beneath.  Then 
there  is  the  so-called  Black  Apricot  (P.  dasycarpa) 
of  uncertain  origin  but  probably  west  Asian.  It  was 
introduced  into  England  in  1800  has  white  flowers 
produced  very  early,  and  purplish  black  fruit.  There 
is  a  strong  family  likeness  among  all  the  Apricots 
and  what  is  needed  is  to  get  all  the  kinds  together 
in  one  place  and  study  them  comparatively.  In  any 
case  this  would  serve  to  provide  the  hybridist  with 
material  for  further  effort  to  improve  the  existing 
races  of  Apricot. 

The  Cherry-trees  cultivated  in  gardens  and  or- 
chards of  the  West  for  their  fruit  are  the  product  of 
two  species — Prunus  avium  and  P.  Cerasus — re- 
spectively the  Sweet  and  Sour  Cherries — both  of 
Eurasian  origin.  They  have  been  cultivated  from 
214 


OUR     COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

very  early  times  and  their  history  is  very  similar  to 
that  of  the  Apple  and  Pear.  The  Sweet  Cherry, 
Mazzard  or  Gean,  from  which  the  Heart  and  Bigar- 
reau  Cherries  have  been  derived,  is  a  native  of  west- 
ern Europe,  including  England  and  Norway  and 
eastward  to  Asia  Minor  and  the  Caucasus,  but  is 
rare  in  a  wild  state  in  Spain  and  Italy;  in  Russia  it 
is  apparently  confined  to  the  southwestern  provinces 
and  to  the  Crimea.  It  favours  well-drained  light 
soils  on  the  margins  of  woods,  and  especially 
among  Beech-trees.  It  is  a  handsome,  more  or  less 
loosely  pyramidal  tree  from  80  to  90  feet  tall  by  10 
feet  and  more  in  girth  of  trunk.  In  Beech  woods  on 
the  Chiltern  Hills  in  England  it  grows  to  perfection. 
It  is  less  hardy  than  the  Sour  Cherry,  suckers  little 
from  the  roots,  and  from  the  fact  that  birds  favour 
its  fruit  it  owes  its  specific  name.  The  Sour  or  Pie 
Cherry  from  which  the  Kentish  Cherries  and  Morellos 
have  been  derived  is  native  of  southeastern  Europe, 
Asia  Minor,  and  the  Caucasus,  and  in  this  country  is 
a  much  hardier  tree  than  the  Sweet  Cherry.  It  is  a 
low  tree,  rarely  40  feet  tall,  with  a  broad,  wide-spread- 
ing crown  and  suckers  freely.  It  is  naturalized  in 
the  colder  states  of  this  country  and  over  a  great 
part  of  Europe.  A  variety  (marasca),  native  of 
Dalmatia,  is  worthy  of  mention  as  the  source  of 
Maraschino,  a  distilled  liqueur  much  used  in  Europe 
215 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

and  elsewhere,  and  in  America  in  the  preparation  of 
maraschino  cherries. 

Theophrastus  in  his  "History  of  Plants,"  written 
some  300  years  before  the  Christian  era,  gives  a  good 
description  of  the  Sweet  Cherry  but  in  ancient 
Greece  it  was  little  esteemed  as  a  fruit  tree.  Pliny 
states  that  Lucullus,  the  Roman  soldier  and  epicure, 
brought  them  to  Rome  65  years  before  the  birth  of 
Christ;  but  that  Pliny  was  in  error  is  proved  by  the 
illustrious  Roman  scholar,  Marcus  Terentius  Varro, 
who  in  his  book  on  farming  written  in  37  b.  c, 
treats  of  them  as  commonplace  orchard  trees  of  the 
period  and  tells  when  and  how  to  graft  them.  The 
Romans  carried  cultivated  varieties  of  Cherries  to 
England  and  this  fruit  tree  became  well  established 
in  Kent  during  their  occupation  of  Britain.  In  the 
time  of  Henry  VIII  and  Queen  Elizabeth  the  cherry 
was  a  highly  favoured  fruit  and  an  excellent  account 
of  it  is  given  by  the  Elizabethan  herbalist,  Gerard. 

The  cherry  was  one  of  the  first  fruit  trees  planted 
in  this  country  and  was  brought  to  New  England 
by  the  earliest  settlers.  Francis  Higginson,  writing 
in  1629,  states  that  the  Red  Kentish  was  the  only 
cherry  cultivated  in  Massachusetts.  In  1641  Cherry- 
trees  were  on  sale  in  a  nursery  in  Massachusetts. 
John  Josselyn,  who  made  voyages  to  New  England 
in  1638,  1639,  1663,  in  his  "New  England  Rarities 
216 


OUR    COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

Discovered"  says:  "It  was  not  long  before  I  left 
the  Country  that  I  made  Cherry  Wine,  and  so  may 
others  for  there  are  a  good  store  of  them  both 
red  and  black.  Their  fruit  trees  are  subject  to  two 
diseases,  the  Meazels,  which  is  when  they  are  burned 
and  scorched  with  the  sun,  and  lowsiness  when  the 
woodpeckers  jab  holes  in  their  bark;  the  way  to  cure 
them  when  they  are  lowsie  is  to  bore  a  hole  in  the 
main  root  with  an  augur,  and  pour  in  a  quantity  of 
Brandie  or  Rhum  and  then  stop  it  up  with  a  pin 
made  of  the  same  tree." 

In  China  Cherries  are  the  product  of  Prunus 
pseudocerasus,  a  small  tree,  wild  in  the  woods  of  the 
province  of  Hupeh,  central  China.  It  is  not  very 
hardy  but  is  cultivated  over  a  considerable  area  in 
China,  and  also  in  the  warmer  parts  of  Korea  and 
southern  Manchuria.  Formerly  it  was  much  grown 
in  Japan,  but  its  place  has  been  taken  by  European 
Cherries.  The  Chinese  Cherry  is  a  red,  sweet 
fruit  of  little  flavour,  suggesting  a  White  Heart 
Cherry  in  miniature.  It  was  introduced  into  Eng- 
land about  1822  but  was  soon  lost  or  nearly  so.  It 
has  not  proved  hardy  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum  but 
has  fruited  in  Chico,  California. 

Much  more  valuable  is  the  Bush-cherry  (P. 
tomentosa),  a  common  wild  shrub  in  central  and 
western  China  and  much  cultivated  in  northern  China, 
217 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Manchuria  and  Korea  for  its  fruit.  It  is  a  very  hardy 
plant  and  will  thrive  in  the  coldest  parts  of  the 
United  States.  It  has  short-stalked,  globose,  scarlet 
fruit,  very  juicy  and  pleasantly  acid.  The  plant 
seldom  exceeds  6  feet  in  height  and  as  much  in  dia- 
meter, and  has  leaves  clothed  with  gray,  woolly  hairs 
on  the  underside.  The  Sand  Cherry  (P.  pumila) 
of  eastern  North  America  and  its  western  relative 
(P.  Besseyi)  have  received  a  little  attention  from 
fruit  breeders  during  recent  years  and  may  ultimately 
prove  of  some  value,  but  their  fruits  are  decidedly 
astringent. 

The  consensus  of  opinion  is  that  our  common 
Plums  have  been  evolved  by  long  cultivation  from 
two  Eurasian  species,  P.  insititia  and  P.  domestica. 
To  the  first-named  belong  the  damsons,  bullace, 
mirabelle,  and  St.  Julien  plums ;  the  second  is  the  more 
important  of  the  two  and  here  belong  the  green- 
gages (Reine  Claude  plums),  the  prunes,  the  per- 
drigon  plums,  the  yellow  egg  plums,  the  Imperatrice, 
and  the  Lombard  plums.  The  Insititia  plum  was 
mentioned  by  the  old  Greek  poets  Archilochus  and 
Hippona  in  the  6th  century  b.  c.  and  has  been 
cultivated  from  the  earliest  times.  Nowadays  it 
grows  wild  in  all  the  temperate  parts  of  Europe,  and 
in  western  Asia  to  the  Caspian  region.  The  Dam- 
sons derive  their  name  from  the  old  city  of  Da- 
218 


OUR    COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

mascus,  and  old  works  on  pomology  state  that  Alex- 
ander the  Great  brought  these  plums  from  the  Orient 
after  his  expedition  of  conquest  and  that  some  cen- 
turies later  Pompey,  returning  from  his  invasion  of 
the  near  East,  brought  plums  to  the  Roman  Empire. 
It  may  be  assumed  with  reasonable  probability  that 
the  Syrians  and  Persians  were  the  first  to  cultivate 
these  Plums. 

The  Domestica  Plums  were  apparently  first  known 
and  cultivated  in  the  Transcaspian  region  and  did 
not  reach  Europe  until  after  the  dawn  of  the  Christian 
era.  Pliny  is  the  first  to  give  a  clear  account  of  these 
and  he  speaks  of  them  as  a  new  introduction  from 
Asia  Minor.  The  prune  group  of  the  Domestica 
Plums  are  very  rich  in  sugar  which  enables  them  to  be 
preserved  by  drying  without  removing  the  stone. 
They  probably  originated  in  Turkestan  in  early  times, 
were  brought  to  Europe  by  the  Huns,  becoming 
established  in  Hungary  where  in  the  16th  century 
they  were  an  important  trading  commodity.  When 
and  where  the  Reine  Claude  Plums  originated  no- 
body knows.  The  name  commemorates  Queen 
Claude,  wife  of  Francis  I,  the  fruit  having  been 
introduced  into  France  about  the  end  of  the  15th 
century.  The  English  synonym,  Green-gage,  is 
named  for  the  Gage  family  who  procured  them  from 
the  Chartreuse  Monastery  in  Paris  early  in  the  17th 
219 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

century.  The  Perdigon  Plums  are  an  old  group  and 
take  their  name  from  an  ancient  geographical  division 
of  Italy.  Of  the  Egg  Plums  the  Imperial  or  Red 
Magnum  Bonum  was  known  in  England  in  1629 
and  the  Yellow  Egg  is  described  by  Rea  in  1676. 
Parkinson  in  1629  describes  half-a-dozen  sorts  of 
Imperatrice  Plums  distinguished  by  blue-black 
bloomy  fruits.  Both  Insititia  and  Domestica  Plums 
were  among  the  earliest  fruits  planted  by  the  settlers 
in  this  country  but  they  have  never  attained  the 
importance  here  that  they  hold  in  Europe. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  Eurasian  Plums 
mention  ought  to  be  made  of  P.  cerasifera,  the  Myro- 
balan  Plum,  native  of  Transcaucasia,  northern  Persia, 
and  Turkestan.  It  is  a  hardy,  handsome  tree  but 
its  fruit  is  much  inferior  to  that  of  the  two  already 
mentioned  so  it  is  but  little  grown. 

The  Plum  cultivated  in  the  temperate  parts  of 
eastern  Asia  is  Prunus  salicina,  better  known  as  P. 
triflora  and  in  the  vernacular  as  the  Japanese  Plum. 
It  is  indigenous  in  central  China  where  I  have  found 
it  to  be  fairly  common,  but  is  unknown  in  a  wild 
state  from  any  other  region.  Curiously  enough  it  is 
the  only  true  Plum  known  from  all  that  vast  region. 
In  China  it  has  been  cultivated  from  time  immemorial 
and  there  are  varieties  in  quantity,  some  with  green- 
ish, others  yellow,  red,  or  bloomy-black  fruits.  From 
220 


OUR    COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

China  it  has  been  taken  tosouthern  Manchuria,  Korea, 
and  Japan  where  to-day  it  is  extensively  cultivated. 
From  Japan  it  was  introduced  into  this  country 
about  1870  by  a  Mr.  Hough,  of  Vacaville,  Cal., 
through  a  United  States  Consul  to  Japan,  Mr. 
Bridges.  The  first  ripe  fruit  of  these  east  Asiatic 
Plums  was  produced  in  the  grounds  of  Mr.  John 
Kelsey,  Berkeley,  Cal.,  in  1876.  So  impressed  with 
their  value  was  Mr.  Kelsey  that  he  urged  others 
to  take  them  up  and  this  resulted  in  their  prop- 
agation being  undertaken  on  a  large  scale  by 
Messers  W.  P.  Hammon  &  Co.,  Oakland,  California, 
about  1883.  To-day  about  one  hundred  varieties  of 
Japanese  Plum  are  grown  in  this  country.  It  reached 
Europe,  where  it  is  less  valued,  later,  and  from 
America. 

A  hybrid  between  a  cultivated  form  of  the  east 
Asiatic  Plum  and  the  common  Apricot,  known  as 
Prunus  Simonii,  has  been  cultivated  for  nobody 
knows  how  long  in  the  provinces  of  Shantung  and 
Chihli.  It  was  introduced  to  France  in  1867  and  has 
since  been  much  grown  in  this  country.  This  Plum- 
cot  is  short-lived  and  of  no  particular  value. 

Authorities  are  not  yet  agreed  as  to  the  exact 
number  of  species  of  Plums  found  wild  in  this  country 
and  Canada  but  undoubtedly  they  exceed  in  number 
the  total  found  in  the  rest  of  the  world.     Virtually 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

all  have  fruit  useful  for  culinary  purposes  if  not  for 
dessert  and  were  so  employed  by  the  early  settlers. 
The  Indians  knew  their  value  and  utilized  them.  In 
recent  years  different  Agricultural  Experimental 
Stations  have  undertaken  proper  investigations  with 
promising  results.  By  selection  and  hybridizing  there 
is  much  promise  of  future  usefulness,  and  especially 
for  the  Prairie  states  and  those  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  where  European  Plums  do  not  succeed.  The 
best  known  perhaps  is  Prunus  americana  which  is 
distributed  from  the  Atlantic  coast  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  It  was  known  in  Europe  before  1768 
when  it  is  mentioned  by  Duhamel  under  the  name 
"Prunier  de  Virginie"  but  has  never  become  im- 
portant there.  Among  the  oldest  known  is  Prunus 
nigra,  the  Canada  Plum,  first  described  in  1 789,  and 
undoubtedly  the  dried  plum  which  Jacques  Cartier 
saw  in  the  canoes  of  Indians,  in  his  first  voyages  of 
discovery  up  the  St.  Lawrence  in  1 534.  These  primi- 
tive prunes  were  a  staple  article  of  diet  among  the 
Indians  in  those  early  times,  and  it  is  possible  that 
they  planted  trees  of  this  species  about  their  habita- 
tions. The  comparatively  recently  recognized  P. 
hortulana  and  P.  Munsoniana  are  perhaps  the  most 
promising  and  valuable  of  American  Plums,  especially 
for  the  more  southern  states  of  the  Middle-West. 
The  Pacific  Plum  (P.  subcordata)  is  one  of  the  staple 
222 


OUR     COMMON     FRUIT    TREES 

foods  of  the  Indians  east  of  the  Coast  Range  from 
southern  Oregon  to  central  California,  being  eaten  raw 
or  cooked  and  is  sometimes  dried  in  quantity.  The 
Chicasaw  Plum  (P.  angustifolia)  and  the  Beach  Plum 
(P.  maritima)  were  both  named  by  Marshall  in  1785 
and  were  known  to  the  earliest  settlers  along  the 
Atlantic  seaboard.  There  are  several  other  named 
species  and  numerous  varieties,  and  intimate  study 
will  assuredly  result  in  new  discoveries.  A  century 
hence  these  American  Plums  will  probably  be  in  the 
first  rank  among  the  stone-fruits  of  this  country. 

In  northern  China  a  Jujube  (Zi^ypbus  sativa)  is 
very  extensively  cultivated  and  the  varieties  are  very 
numerous.  Some  of  the  best  of  these  have  been  intro- 
duced into  this  country  by  the  late  Frank  N.  Meyer 
for  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  may  event- 
ually rank  among  the  fruits  of  America.  The  most 
popular  fruit  in  China,  Korea,  and  Japan  is  the  Per- 
simmon (Diospyros  kaki),  and  several  of  the  best  kinds 
have  been  introduced  by  Mr.  Meyer,  but  there  has 
not  yet  been  time  to  establish  the  industry  here. 
Were  unlimited  space  at  my  disposal  I  would  tell 
of  the  Fig  and  other  fruits  but  there  must  be  an 
end  to  this  chapter.  The  attempt  has  been  to  set 
forth  some  of  the  more  interesting  aspects  and  facts 
centred  around  our  common  fruit  trees.  The  practi- 
cal side  of  pomology  is  not  part  of  the  scheme  but  in 
223 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

emphasizing  the  ancient  character  of  the  cult,  its  re- 
mote and  crude  beginnings,  it  is  obvious  that  the  end 
is  not  yet.  Even  as  we  now  enjoy  fruits  in  greater 
variety  and  of  a  quality  superior  to  those  of  the 
Roman  period,  so  also  will  the  fruits  of  the  future 
assuredly  be  better  and  of  greater  variety  than  those 
of  to-day. 


224 


CHAPTER    XIII 


THE    LOMBARDY    POPLAR    AND 
WILLOW  OF  BABYLON 


'ndKF1  <J$^A 

E 

H->'  >iay^j  >fi 

I 

w  3^1 

*XsK»i 

•  ••  ■ 

1 

•,\ . 

J     _ 

gs 

z    T 


WEHPING    WILLOWS 

(above)  true  "willow  of  babvlon"  where  it  grows 
wild,  in  the  min  valley  of  the  ch i no-thi b  et  a  n  border- 
LAND (Salix  bdbylonica) 

(BELOW)      SALAMON'S      WILLOW,      NOT     QUITE     SO     PENDULOUS, 

but   much   more    hardy  {Salix  Salamonii) 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  LOMBARDY  POPLAR  AND 
WI LLOW  OF  BABYLON 

IN  THE  realm  of  tree-life  no  stronger  contrast 
exists  than  that  presented  by  these  two  trees. 
It  is  true  that  upright  and  pendulous  branch- 
ing forms  occur  in  other  trees  but  none  is  fixed 
in  the  popular  mind  so  firmly  as  this  Poplar  and  Wil- 
low. Their  very  names  conjure  up  mental  pictures 
of  the  trees,  and  they  are  known  far  outside  the  fold  of 
garden-lovers.  Both  are  intimately  associated  with 
mankind  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  indeed,  it  is 
doubtful  if  any  deciduous-leaved  trees  have  been 
more  widely  planted  on  purely  aesthetic  grounds. 
In  the  case  of  the  Poplar  some  consider  that  its 
planting  has  been  over-done — certainly  it  has  been 
planted  where  it  should  not  have  been  and  its  legiti- 
mate uses  much  abused.  But  this  is  the  fault  of 
man  and  not  of  the  tree.  Rightfully  used  it  is  a 
valuable  subject  in  landscape  work  and  quickly 
develops  a  unique  effect.  By  water  these  trees  are 
complimentary  and  create  a  splendid  and  harmon- 
227 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

ious  effect.  The  Willow  has  not  suffered  in  this 
respect.  With  its  pendent  branches,  lithe  and 
graceful,  moved  by  the  faintest  breath  of  wind,  it 
has  stirred  the  sentiment  of  different  races  of  man- 
kind. Usually  it  is  associated  with  grief.  In  Korea 
it  is  planted  to  form  avenues  leading  to  the  tombs  of 
royalty.  And  did  not  Napoleon  on  St.  Helena  sit 
beneath  a  Weeping  Willow?  Grieving  over  his  fallen 
fortunes  he  may  have  found  sympathy  beneath  this 
tree,  for  in  the  cynical  expression  that  misery  likes 
company  there  is  much  truth. 

An  old  Chinese  book  says  "the  Emperor  Yang  Ti 
of  the  Sung  dynasty  built  a  great  canal  a  thousand 
li  [Chinese  miles]  in  length,  and  encouraged  the 
people  to  plant  Willows  along  its  banks.  For  each 
tree  planted  a  roll  of  silk  was  given  and  the  trees 
were  named  after  the  Emperor  and  called  'Yang-liu.'" 
In  Japan  the  highest  type  of  feminine  beauty  is 
symbolized  by  the  Willow  for  gracefulness,  the 
cherry-blossom  for  youthful  charm,  and  the  plum- 
blossom  for  virtue  and  sweetness.  A  celebrated 
Japanese  beauty  is  known  as  Yanagi-no-oriu,  or 
"Willow-woman,"  and  is  said  to  have  a  Yamagi- 
koshi — willow-waist,  because  she  is  slender  and  grace- 
ful like  the  hanging  branches  of  that  tree.  Dancers, 
too,  are  said  "to  sway  like  the  branches  of  the  Willow 
when  wafted  by  the  summer's  breeze."  On  the 
228 


POPLAR    AND    WILLOW 

"willow-pattern"  crockery  and  porcelain  is  per- 
petuated the  legend  of  the  Chinese  maiden  Koong 
Shee  who  loved  her  father's  secretary,  Chang,  and  ran 
away  with  him.  A  similar  legend  is  current  in  old 
Korean  literature.  In  our  own  folk-lore  and  songs 
the  Willow  is  associated  with  love,  unrequited  or 
forbidden.  The  note  of  sadness  is  present  and  the 
bond  of  sympathy  is  ever  to  the  fore.  Someone  has 
asserted  that  the  beautiful  always  awakens  sadness, 
and  perhaps  this  explains  why  the  Willow  and  grief 
are  inseparably  linked  in  the  poetry  and  prose  of 
many  lands. 

The  Poplar,  on  the  other  hand,  inspires  no  such 
thoughts.  Each  and  every  one  of  its  branches  grow 
erect  and  cluster  closely  together  as  if  afraid  to 
leave  the  bosom  of  the  parent  trunk.  Rapidly  it 
grows  and  thrusts  its  narrow,  spire-like  crown  heaven- 
ward. Like  ambition  its  one  desire  seems  to  be 
to  excel  its  fellows  and  flaunt  in  the  breeze  far  above 
their  heads.  Trees  from  ioo  to  150  feet  tall  are 
known — gaunt  in  winter  but  spires  of  green  in  sum- 
mer, like  sentinels  they  stand  and  dare  both  the  laws 
of  gravity  and  the  fury  of  storms.  For  their  great 
daring  they  often  suffer,  but  so  do  others  of  greater 
timidity.  To  watch  a  Lombardy  Poplar  in  a  wind- 
storm is  inspiring.  No  tree  puts  up  a  better  struggle. 
It  bows  far  over  and  defiantly  regains  its  equilibrium 
229 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

at  the  first  lull.  Think  of  the  strain  on  its  millions 
of  cells;  of  their  elasticity  and  supple  strength. 
Compare  them  with  the  buildings  erected  by  man, 
and  their  superiority  in  tensile  strength  is  immense. 
On  calm  days  the  Lombardy  Poplar  may  be  con- 
sidered stiff,  even  frigidly  so,  but  in  a  storm  its 
grace  and  litheness  are  unmistakably  shown. 

And  why  the  name  Lombardy  Poplar?  All  the 
trees  of  this  Poplar  are  male,  and  the  accepted  view 
is  that  they  have  all  descended  by  vegetative  propa- 
gation from  a  single  tree  which  originated  on  the 
banks  of  the  River  Po  in  northern  Italy,  probably 
early  in  the  18th  century.  It  is  not  mentioned  by 
mediaeval  Italian  writers  nor  by  travellers  in  Italy 
during  the  17th  century.  An  1 8th  century  writer, 
Jean  Frangois  Seguier  in  his  "  Plantae  Veronensis" 
II,  267  (1745),  says  it  was  known  anciently  in 
Lombardy  and  mentions  a  superb  avenue  which  he 
saw  in  1703  at  Colorno,  the  residence  of  the  Duke  of 
Parma.  It  was  apparently  carried  by  the  Genoese  to 
the  Levant,  and  by  1 798  it  was  known  to  be  abundant 
on  the  plains  of  Damascus.  It  has,  indeed,  been 
widely  planted  in  northern  Africa,  Egypt,  in  south- 
western Asia,  and  is  common  in  Asia  Minor,  Persia, 
Afghanistan,  and  Kashmir.  In  Turkestan  a  fastigiate 
form  of  the  White  Poplar  (P.  alba)  has  by  some 
travellers  been  mistaken  for  it.  It  has  reached  China, 
230 


IRANCHED    IN D  LEAFED    rO    I  II  I     VERY  GROUND    I 
LOMBARDS    POPLAR    IS    Mil     MOS1     HANDSOM1     1"REI    01 
ITS  T\  l'l    01    GROW!  II       A  MODI  RN    fRI  I 


I  II  I        LOMBARDS 

POP!    \\< 

(  Popultts  nigra  \  ar.  italic  a) 


m 


FLORENCE    COURT    OR    IRISH     YEW 
A     NATURAL     VARIATION     OF     THE     ENGLISH     YEW 

(Taxus   baccata   var.  fastigiata) 


POPLAR    AND    WILLOW 

but  when  is  unknown,  and  is  often  seen  to-day  as  a 
planted  tree.  In  and  around  Tsingtao  it  has  been 
much  planted  and  from  there  taken  to  southern  Man- 
churia and  Korea,  where  it  has  been  planted  to  a  ridicu- 
lous extent.  Also  it  has  reached  Japan,  but  there 
the  tree  has  not  found  favour.  To  France  the  Lom- 
bardy  Poplar  was  introduced  in  1749.  It  is  usually 
stated  to  have  been  brought  to  England  in  1758  by  the 
Earl  of  Rochford,  ambassador  at  that  time  in  Turin, 
and  planted  at  St.  Osyth's  in  Essex,  but  there  is  good 
reason  for  believing  that  it  was  introduced  some 
years  earlier  by  the  Duke  of  Argyll  and  planted  at 
Whitton.  It  was  introduced  into  America  by  Wil- 
liam Hamilton  from  England  in  1784,  and  planted 
on  his  estate  at  Woodlands,  Philadelphia. 

The  Lombardy  Poplar  was  first  recognized  and 
described  as  a  variety  of  the  Black  Poplar  by  Du 
Roi  in  1772.  Since  then  it  has  received  several  other 
names  but  experts  now  agree  with  Du  Roi.  Such 
is  the  history,  in  brief,  of  one  of  the  most  common  and 
best  known  of  planted  trees.  It  is  of  essentially 
modern  origin  and  yet,  thanks  to  its  distinct  ap- 
pearance, which  has  singled  it  out  for  favouritism,  and 
the  ease  with  which  it  is  propagated,  it  has  been 
spread  over  a  wider  area  of  the  world's  surface  than 
any  other  European  tree  of  purely  ornamental  char- 
acter. 

-Ml 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

The  story  of  the  Babylon  Willow  (Salix  baby- 
lonica)  is  older.  Its  distribution  has  been  in  the 
reverse  order  and  its  early  history  is  shrouded  in 
mystery.  It  is  a  Chinese  tree  and  it  is  doubtful  if 
it  was  ever  known  by  the  waters  of  Babylon  for 
which  it  is  named  and  endeared  to  the  minds  of  most 
people.  Truth  often  shatters  fond  delusions  and 
robs  us  of  many  pretty  myths  and  stories  to  which  we 
fain  would  cling.  So  much  has  the  name  "Willow  of 
Babylon"  captivated  the  popular  mind  that  Weeping 
Willows  generally  are  considered  to  be  this  tree. 
In  spite  of  the  shock  to  popular  belief  truth  necessi- 
tates the  record  that  the  trees  in  the  Psalmist's 
wail  (Psalms  CXXXVI  I,  verse  1,2.  "  By  the  rivers  of 
Babylon,  there  we  sat  down,  yea,  we  wept,  when  we 
remembered  Zion.  We  hanged  our  harps  upon  the  wil- 
lows in  the  midst  thereof.")  are  not  Willows  at  all  but 
a  Poplar  (Populus  euphratica) !  The  Willow  of  Baby- 
lon is  native  of  China  where  it  is  common  on  alluvial 
areas,  especially  those  of  the  Lower  Yangtsze.  It 
has  been  much  planted  and  it  is  often  difficult  to  tell 
the  wild  from  the  cultivated  trees.  Near  Shanghai 
it  is  abundant  but  it  does  not  grow  so  far  north  as 
Peking  where  the  winters  are  too  cold  for  it.  In  the 
neighbourhood  of  Ichang  in  central  China  it  is  com- 
mon, but  the  largest  trees  I  have  seen  are  in  the 
western  province  of  Szech'uan,  near  the  Chino- 
232 


POPLAR    AND    WILLOW 

Thibetan  borderland.  In  its  typical  form  it  is  a 
broad-topped,  spreading  tree  often  from  60  to  80 
feet  tall,  from  6  to  10  feet  in  girth  of  trunk,  and  from 
50  to  60  feet  through  the  crown.  The  pendent  form 
is  really  an  extreme  condition  but  it  is  common. 
And  in  relation  to  this  it  is  worthy  of  note,  for  the 
fact  has  not  been  properly  appreciated  that  many 
Tree-willows  have  weeping  forms.  The  typical 
form  has  a  broad  crown,  and  one  extreme  inclines 
to  be  more  or  less  conical  and  the  other  pendent. 
This  range  of  variation — this  diversification  into  three 
forms — obtains  in  the  Chinese  Salix  babylonica  under 
consideration;  S.  Matsudana,  common  around  Peking 
and  westward;  S.  koreensis,  abundant  in  Korea,  and  in 
5.  Warburgii  of  Liukiu  and  Formosa.  It  also  occurs 
in  other  Korean  and  in  certain  Japanese  Tree- 
willows,  whose  names  are  less  familiar,  but  is  not 
quite  so  marked. 

In  China  the  Babylon  Willow  is  a  favourite  garden 
tree  and  is  also  planted  by  graves  and  in  temple 
grounds.  In  northern  China  and  Korea  its  native 
confreres  are  used  in  the  same  manner.  To  Japan 
the  male  form  of  S.  babylonica  was  long  ago  taken  and 
in  many  cities — Tokyo,  for  example — it  is  a  favourite 
street  tree,  being  kept  severely  pruned;  in  Japanese 
gardens,  temples,  and  palace  grounds,  it  is  also  com- 
mon. This  male  tree  has  been  introduced  from 
233 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Japan  to  California  where  it  is  also  a  favourite  and 
around  San  Francisco  it  is  commonly  planted. 

How,  when,  and  by  what  means  it  reached  the  near 
East  is  not  known,  but  in  all  probability  by  the  old 
caravan  routes  across  central  Asia.  Or  it  may  have 
been  carried  by  old  voyagers  from  Canton  by  sea  to 
India  though  this  is  less  likely.  The  first  mention  we 
have  of  the  tree  is  of  a  specimen  collected  in  China 
by  James  Cunningham  and  recorded  by  James 
Petiver  in  his  quaint  work  " Musei  Petiveriani 
centuria"  No.  997,  published  in  1703,  who  gives  its 
Chinese  name  and  says  it  is  a  Tree-willow  with 
pendulous  foliage  branches.  In  the  neighbourhood 
of  Mt.  Olympus  in  Asia  Minor,  Wheler,  in  his 
"Journey  in  Greece  and  Asia  Minor,"  p.  2 1 7,  published 
in  1682,  tells  of  a  tree  which  may  have  been  a  Weep- 
ing Willow.  But  the  first  definite  mention  of  this 
tree  in  the  Levant  is  by  Tournefort,  in  his  "Corol- 
larium,"  page  41,  published  in  1719,  who  describes  it 
as  the  Oriental  Willow  with  shoots  beautifully  hang- 
ing downward.  Either  he  or  Wheler  took  it  to 
western  Europe.  It  was  introduced  into  England 
before  1730  for  in  a  catalogue,  published  by  Philip 
Miller  in  that  year,  it  is  stated  to  be  on  sale  in 
gardens  near  London.  Peter  Collinson,  whom  we 
mentioned  when  writing  about  the  Horsechestnut, 
was  of  the  opinion  that  it  was  introduced  by  Mr. 
234 


POPLAR     AND     WILLOW 

Vernon,  a  merchant  at  Aleppo,  Turkey,  who  planted 
it  at  his  seat  in  Twickenham  Park.  Collinson  saw 
it  there  in  1748  and  claims  that  this  tree  was  the 
original  of  all  the  Weeping  Willows  in  England.  The 
celebrated  poet,  Alexander  Pope,  who  died  in  1744, 
had  a  tree  in  his  garden  at  Twickenham  and  the 
story  is  that  he  happened  to  be  with  Lady  Suffolk 
when  she  received  a  present  from  Spain,  or,  as  others 
claim,  from  Turkey,  and  observing  that  some  of  the 
withy  bound  round  it  seemed  to  be  alive  took  one 
and  planted  it  in  his  garden  where  it  grew  and  after- 
ward became  a  celebrated  tree.  It  is  said  that  the 
Empress  of  Russia  took  cuttings  from  Pope's  Willow 
in  1789  for  the  gardens  at  Petrograd.  Pope's  tree 
was  destroyed  either  by  storm  or  axe  (there  are  two 
stories)  in  1801,  and  the  wood  was  worked  up  by  an 
eminent  jeweller  into  all  sorts  of  trinkets  and  orna- 
ments which  had  an  extensive  sale. 

On  St.  Helena  Babylon  Willows  were  planted  by 
General  Beatson,  governor  of  the  island,  about  1810. 
One  of  these  trees  became  a  favourite  with  Napoleon 
during  his  exile  there,  and,  at  his  own  request,  a  seat 
was  placed  beneath  it  and  there  he  often  used  to  sit. 

All   the   Babylon  Willows   known   in   Europe  are 

female  and  in  all  probability  originated  from  a  single 

tree   introduced    either   by   Wheler   or   Tournefort. 

It  is  a  rather  tender  tree,  not  long-lived  and  large 

235 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

specimens  are  rare  in  England  and  in  northern 
Europe.  When  it  was  brought  to  this  country  is  un- 
known but  probably  toward  the  end  of  the  18th 
century.  It  has  also  been  carried  to  South  America, 
and  travellers  say  that  in  Chile,  especially  by  sides 
of  irrigation  canals,  magnificent  specimens  occur. 
Near  Boston,  Mass.,  it  is  scarcely  hardy,  but  in  the 
Arnold  Arboretum  some  trees  raised  from  cuttings 
I  sent  from  near  Ichang  in  central  China  are  promis- 
ing. 

A  hybrid,  supposed  to  be  between  S.  babylonica 
and  S.  alba,  named  5.  Salamonii  and  of  which  only 
the  female  is  known,  is  a  much  more  hardy  tree. 
It  is  not  quite  so  pendulous  but  its  increased  hardi- 
ness is  a  great  asset.  This  valuable  tree  originated 
on  the  estate  of  Baron  de  Salamon  near  Man- 
osque  (Basses  Alpes)  before  1869,  when  it  was  put 
on  the  market  by  Simon-Louis  of  Metz.  Another 
handsome  Weeping  Willow,  a  supposed  hybrid  be- 
tween S.  babylonica  and  S.  fragilis,  named  Salix 
blanda,  is  a  much  more  hardy  tree  than  the  Babylon 
Willow.  It  is  a  very  fast-growing  tree  with  long, 
pendent  branchlets  which  almost  reach  to  the  ground. 
There  are  two  forms  of  Salix  blanda,  one  with  yellow 
shoots  called  "Niobe"  and  one  with  reddish  shoots 
known  as  the  "Wisconsin  Weeping  Willow."  Then 
there  are  Salix  purpurea  pendula  and  Salix  alba  vital- 
236 


POPLAR    AND    WILLOW 

Una  pendala,  both  Weeping  Willows.  In  the  cold, 
northern  parts  of  this  country  these  forms  pass  for 
the  Willow  of  Babylon  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
real  tree  is  unknown  there  since  the  cold  is  too  great 
for  it  to  live.  Even  in  England,  and  also  in  Germany 
and  northern  France,  the  true  Babylon  Willow  is 
not  very  hardy  and  is  rare,  and  other  Weeping  Wil- 
lows are  frequently  grown  under  its  name.  They  are 
all  very  beautiful  and  right  well  take  the  place  in  a 
practical  manner  of  5.  babylonica  but  they  suffer 
through  lack  of  historical  interest  when  their  identity 
is  disclosed. 

The  Lombardy  Poplar  and  the  Weeping  Willow 
have  peculiar  merits  in  landscape  planting,  but  the 
former  especially  has  been  abused.  Their  strong 
contrast  makes  them  companions  and  near  water 
they  are  seen  to  good  advantage.  The  Poplar  adds 
grace  and  lightness  when  sparsely  associated  with 
round-topped  trees.  The  Willow  is  best  kept  well 
away  from  buildings  but  the  Poplar  may  be  associ- 
ated with  them  to  advantage.  The  Poplar  is  also 
well  adapted  for  planting  in  narrow  streets,  and 
by  bridges  of  masonry  it  is  seen  to  excellent  advan- 
tage. Rightly  placed  and  rightly  used  the  Lom- 
bardy Poplar  is  one  of  the  most  useful  trees  in  gar- 
den art.  In  this  country  it  has  been  widely 
planted  and  is  too  well-known  to  need  further  com- 
237 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

ment.  To  South  America  also  it  has  been  carried, 
and  in  Chile  (where  possibly  are  the  finest  specimens 
in  cultivation)  and  the  Argentine  it  is  a  commonly 
planted  tree  near  dwellings  and  on  the  side  of  irriga- 
tion canals  where  it  luxuriates.  In  France  this  tree 
has  been  planted  a-plenty  but  it  is  not  now  looked 
upon  with  so  much  favour  as  in  the  past.  To  thrive 
properly  it  requires  fairly  good  soil  and  to  be  well 
supplied  with  water  at  the  roots.  Nowadays  it  has  a 
decided  tendency  to  form  dead  wood  and  become 
scrawny,  and  some  have  suggested  that  this  is  a  sign 
of  old  age.  Since  all  are  and  have  been  propagated 
by  cuttings  from  the  original  tree  this  suggestion 
may  be  the  true  explanation  of  the  present  decline  in 
health  and  vigour  of  the  Lombardy  Poplar. 


238 


*.A 


IGH  I    GROWING    FORMS    OF     I  WO    \Ml   kk    \\    \\  \|M  ,  s 

/"T  rubrum  i  ■/,,•/  taccbarum 

var.  columnare)  var.  monumentale) 


CHAPTER    XIV 
TREES    OF    UPRIGHT    HABIT 


CHAPTER    XIV 
TREES    OF    UPRIGHT    HABIT 

THE  Lombardy  Poplar  and  the  Weeping  Willow 
dealt  with  in  the  preceding  chapter  represent 
two  extreme  types  and  the  most  diverse  varia- 
tions from  the  normal  habit  of  tree-forms.  Though 
the  oldest  authentically  known  deciduous-leaved 
trees  of  their  class  they  are  by  no  means  unique  ex- 
amples and,  since  trees  of  their  remarkable  shapes 
have  a  considerable  field  of  usefulness  in  park  and 
garden  decoration,  it  may  be  useful  to  enlarge  upon 
the  subject.  If  it  be  asked  why  Nature  should  in- 
dulge in  the  development  of  such  abnormal  types  no 
answer  is  forthcoming.  The  manner  in  which  the 
peculiar  branching  habit  takes  place  can  be  explained, 
but  what  induces  it  and  the  reason  why  are  mys- 
teries. Light  and  gravity  exercise  diametrically  op- 
posite effects  on  the  primary  root  and  primary  shoot 
of  a  tree.  The  root  grows  away  from  light  and 
toward  the  centre  of  the  earth;  the  shoot  contrari- 
wise grows  toward  light  and  away  from  the  earth. 
The  behaviour  of  secondary  and  tertiary  roots 
241 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

and  branches  toward  light  is  identical  with  the 
primary  ones  but  toward  gravity  it  is  about  inter- 
mediate for  usually  they  grow  more  or  less  horizon- 
tally away  from  the  central  axis.  In  the  case  of  the 
roots  to  ensure  a  broad  field  from  which  to  draw 
water  and  food  salts ;  in  the  case  of  the  shoots  to  give  a 
wide  field  for  the  leaves  to  intercept  light  and  air 
the  more  completely  to  perform  their  allotted  work 
in  the  tree's  economy.  In  the  Lombardy  Poplar  all 
the  secondary  and  tertiary  branches  grow  erect  after 
the  manner  of  the  primary  shoot;  in  the  Weeping 
Willow  the  tertiary  branches  simulate  the  behaviour 
of  primary  roots  in  that  they  grow  downward  toward 
the  earth's  centre.  Of  the  remarkable  and  opposite 
behaviour  of  the  branches  of  these  two  trees  the 
most  casual  observer  is  cognizant,  but  the  why  of 
this  phenomenon  is  a  poser  to  those  most  deeply 
versed  in  tree-lore.  The  secret  has  not  yet  been 
wrested  from  the  living  substance  scientists  designate 
as  protoplasm.  But  if  it  is  beyond  the  wit  of  man  to 
explain  the  cause.  Garden-lovers,  from  early  times, 
have  not  been  backward  in  appreciating  the  value  of 
such  strikingly  distinct  forms  of  tree-growth  for 
garden  embellishment. 

Among  such  Conifers  of  the  Northern  Hemisphere 
as    Juniper,    Thuja,    Chamaecyparis,    and    Cypress 
many   species   are  columnar   in   outline.     In   some, 
242 


TREES    OF    UPRIGHT    HABIT 

especially  the  Thujas,  the  branches  are  actually 
ascending,  but  in  most  the  habit  is  produced  by  the 
branches  being  very  numerous,  short,  and  of  equal 
length  and  radiating  at  a  right  angle.  In  every  case 
these  trees  assume  a  different  form  as  they  grow  into 
adults,  the  character  being  essentially  a  youthful 
condition  even  though  in  many  it  obtains  for  very 
many  years.  Some  of  the  more  distinct  forms  are 
perpetuated  by  vegetative  propagation,  and  wher- 
ever these  and  the  parent  forms  are  hardy  they  have 
great  garden  value.  In  fact,  the  oldest  cultivated  tree 
of  upright  habit,  the  Italian  Cypress  (Cupressus 
sempervirens),  belongs  to  this  class.  In  some  trees 
both  erect  and  pendulous  forms  are  known  in  the 
same  species.  This  is  the  case  in  the  English  Yew, 
the  European  Beech  and  Birch,  and  in  the  Nor- 
way Spruce,  yet  curiously  enough  there  is  no  truly 
fastigiate  Willow  and  no  weeping  Poplar. 

Let  us  consider  the  upright-branched  forms  of  tree- 
life  typified  in  the  Lombardy  Poplar  and  known  as 
"fastigiate  trees."  Of  such  there  are  quite  a  number 
that  are  hardy  in  the  colder  parts  of  this  country. 
They  belong  to  widely  separated  families  and  their 
number  is  constantly  being  added  to.  Probably  all 
known  are  seminal  variations  of  spontaneous  origin, 
and  owe  their  preservation  to  man  who  has  propa- 
gated them  vegetatively  by  cuttings  or  graftings. 
243 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

In  countries  where  raising  trees  from  seeds  has  long 
been  practised  most  of  these  fastigiate  trees  have 
been  detected.  Among  American  species  five  only 
(Silver,  Sugar,  and  Red  Maples,  Tulip-tree  and  White 
Pine)  have  given  rise  to  fastigiate  trees.  Of  these 
that  of  the  Tulip-tree  and  of  the  Silver  Maple  origi- 
nated in  Europe  and  probably  that  of  the  Red  Maple 
also.  The  other  two  owe  their  preservation  to  the 
Arnold  Arboretum,  and  they  rank  among  the  best 
of  their  class.  The  fastigiate  Sugar  Maple  {Acer 
saccharum  var.  monumentale)  is  one  of  the  narrowest 
of  all  trees  and  is  strikingly  distinct  in  appearance. 
The  branches  are  comparatively  few  and  quite 
erect,  and  the  tree  is  well  adapted  for  planting  by  the 
side  of  narrow  roads.  The  parent  tree  was  dis- 
covered in  1885  growing  in  a  cemetery  in  Newton, 
Mass.  The  specimen  in  the  Arboretum  collection 
is  50  feet  tall  and  is  a  graft  from  the  original  tree. 
The  upright  form  of  the  Red  Maple  (A.  rubrum  var. 
columnar  e)  was  found  growing  in  1889  in  the  old 
Parsons  Nursery,  Flushing,  New  York,  but  noth- 
ing is  known  of  its  history.  It  is  rather  broader 
in  outline  than  the  fastigiate  Sugar  Maple  and  is 
most  decidedly  a  valuable  tree.  The  form  of  the 
Silver  Maple  (A.  saccharinum  var.  pyramidale)  origi- 
nated in  Spath's  Nursery  in  Germany  and  we  have 
only  small  specimens.  As  its  name  suggests  it  is 
244 


TREES    OF     UPRIGHT     HABIT 

pyramidal  in  outline  and  not  so  striking  in  appear- 
ance as  the  two  already  described.  Of  the  many 
species  of  Maple  native  of  the  Old  World  only  the 
Norway  Maple  has  sported  into  an  upright  form. 
It  is  known  as  Acer  platanoides  var.  columnar e  but  is 
really  pyramidal  in  habit. 

A  very  distinct  tree  is  Liriodendron  Tulipifera  var. 
pyramidale,  the  fastigiate  Tulip-tree.  This  originated 
in  the  nursery  of  Simon  Louis,  near  Metz,  Alsace, 
and  has  been  grown  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum  since 
1888.  It  has  the  familiar,  large  leaves  of  the  type 
but  the  branches  are  quite  upright.  Like  the  parent 
it  is  not  attacked  by  pests  of  any  sort  and  it  deserves 
to  be  widely  known. 

One  of  the  narrowest  of  trees  is  Ulmus  glabra  var. 
fastigiata,  the  Exeter  Elm,  a  form  of  the  Scotch  Elm 
which  originated  in  a  nursery  in  Exeter,  Devonshire, 
nearly  a  century  ago.  Truth  to  tell  it  is  a  rather 
ugly  tree  of  little  merit  save  that  it  is  curious.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Cornish  Elm  (U.  nitens  var. 
stricta)  is  beautiful.  This  is  the  common  Elm  in 
Cornwall  and  parts  of  Devonshire,  and  at  its 
best  is  a  tree  80  feet  tall  and  15  feet  in  girth  of 
trunk.  The  lower  branches  curve  outward  and 
upward  while  the  upper  ones  are  short  and  ascend- 
ing, and  the  symmetry  of  the  tree  is  graceful  and 
pleasing.  Very  similar  in  habit  is  the  Guernsey  Elm 
245 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

{U.  nitens  var.  Wheatleyi)  which  appears  in  some 
nurserymen's  catalogues  under  the  name  of  Ulmns 
campestris  monumentalis. 

Fairly  well  known  is  Quercus  pedunculata  var.  fas- 
tigiata,  the  Cypress  Oak,  a  variety  of  the  English 
Oak,  and  very  variable  in  foliage.  In  western  Eu- 
rope it  grows  to  a  large  tree  but  in  this  country,  though 
it  is  quite  hardy,  it  is  short-lived.  It  grows  rapidly 
here  but  rarely  lives  more  than  thirty  or  forty  years. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  fastigiate  Birch  (Betula  pen- 
dula  var.  fastigiata),  which  has  a  narrow  crown  of 
erect  branches.  It  is  strange  that  among  such  a 
large  tribe  as  the  Birches  the  common  White  Birch 
of  Europe  alone  has  sported  distinct  forms. 

Among  that  summer-flowering  group  of  trees,  the 
Lindens,  there  is  but  one  with  upright  branches. 
This  is  Tilia  platyphyllos  var.  pyramidalis,  a  Euro- 
pean tree  whose  branches  taper  from  a  broad  base 
to  a  pointed  apex,  and  is  pyramidal  rather  than  erect 
in  habit.  The  European  Hornbeam  (Carpinus  Betu- 
lus)  has  given  rise  to  two  forms  of  upright  habit. 
One  (var.  globosa),  in  spite  of  its  name,  is  a  dwarf, 
very  compact,  fastigiate  plant,  the  other  (var.  pyra- 
midalis) is  well  described  by  its  varietal  name. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  all  fastigiate  trees 
is  the  Dawyck  Beech  (Fagus  sylvatica  var.  dawyckii). 
This  remarkable  form  of  the  European  Beech  origi- 
246 


TREES    OF    UPRIGHT     HABIT 

nated  on  the  estate  of  my  friend  Mr.  F.  R.  S.  Bal- 
four at  Dawyck,  Peebleshire,  Scotland,  and  is  now 
50  feet  tall.  It  is  an  old  tree  with  dense,  quite  up- 
right branches  and  is  a  striking  contrast  to  the  type. 
The  propagation  of  this  fastigiate  Beech  has  recently 
been  taken  up  by  European  nurserymen,  and  young 
plants  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum  are  doing  well. 

The  European  Crataegus  monogyna,  a  Haw- 
thorn, has  produced  two  varieties  with  upright 
branches.  One  (var.  strida)  is  a  tree  with  a  broad 
crown  and  bears  dull  red  fruit;  the  other  (var.  monu- 
mentalis)  is  a  narrow  and  strictly  pyramidal  plant, 
and  is  a  recent  acquisition  to  our  collection.  In  some 
European  nurseries  there  is  grown  a  fastigiate  form 
of  the  common  Horsechestnut  {A e senilis  Hippoeas- 
tanum  var.  pyramidalis)  but  I  have  not  seen  this 
tree. 

Besides  the  Lombardy  there  are  two  other  Poplars 
that  have  erect  branches.  One  of  these  is  Popidus 
alba  var.  pyramidalis,  better  known  as  P.  Bolleana. 
This  form  of  the  White  Poplar  is  a  native  of  central 
Asia  and  was  introduced  into  Europe  and  this 
country  about  forty  years  ago.  In  habit  it  is  as 
fastigiate  as  the  Lombardy  Poplar,  and  it  exhibits 
much  variation  in  shape  of  leaves  which  are  white  on 
the  underside.  The  second  Poplar  is  known  as  P. 
thevestina  and  though  in  habit  and  foliage  it  is  simi- 
247 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

lar  to  the  Lombardy,  its  bark  is  nearly  white.  This 
tree  grows  in  Serbia,  in  the  Crimea,  and  in  Algiers;  in 
the  Arnold  Arboretum  it  has  made  rapid  growth  and 
has  proved  quite  hardy. 

Among  Conifers  of  the  type  of  growth  under  con- 
sideration Pinus  Strobus  var.  fastigiata  is  destined 
to  be  of  great  importance.  The  original  tree  was 
discovered  about  1895  in  a  garden  at  Lenox,  Mass., 
and  the  trees  now  growing  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum 
are  grafts  from  it.  This  handsome  tree  has  compact, 
ascending  branches  forming  a  conical  crown,  and  it 
ought  to  be  widely  propagated  by  nurserymen.  The 
Scots  Pine  (P.  sylvestris)  has  many  seminal  and 
geographical  forms  and  among  them  one  (var.  pyra- 
midalis)  of  fastigiate  habit.  Of  the  Norway  Spruce 
(Picea  Abies  or  P.  excelsa)  a  great  number  of  abnor- 
mal forms  are  known  and  among  them  at  least  two 
(var.  columnaris  and  var.  pyramidalis)  with  erect 
branches.  The  parents  of  these  are  said  to  have  been 
found  wild  in  the  European  forests. 

One  of  the  loveliest  of  hardy  pyramidal  Conifers  is 
Douglas's  Arborvitae  (Thuja  occidentalis  var.  pyra- 
midalis), sold  by  many  American  nurserymen  under 
the  name  of  Thuja  occidentalis  pyramidalis  Douglasii. 
It  is  a  tall,  narrow  tree  of  a  rich  green  hue,  and  was 
raised  some  time  before  1855  by  Robert  Douglas 
in  his  nursery  at  Waukegan,  111.  Since  I  have 
248 


TREES    OF     UPRIGHT     II  ADIT 

mentioned  an  Arborvitae,  I  cannot  resist  saying  a 
word  or  two  about  the  Incense  Cedar  (Libocedrus 
decurrens).  This  tree  grows  wild  on  the  western 
slopes  of  the  Cascade  and  Sierra  Nevada  mountains 
from  Oregon  southward  to  near  the  Mexican  bound- 
ary, and  also  on  the  California  coast  ranges.  In  the 
Arnold  Arboretum  it  is  hardy  only  in  a  sheltered  nook 
near  the  top  of  Hemlock  Hill.  It  has  ascending 
branches  forming  a  columnar  crown,  and  is  of  a 
rich,  dark  shining  green  hue.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  distinct  of  all  hardy  or  nearly  hardy  Conifers, 
and  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  where  it  was  in- 
troduced by  John  Jeffrey  in  1852,  many  stately, 
columnar  specimens  fully  50  feet  tall  adorn  lawns 
and  pleasure  grounds. 

One  of  the  most  famous  and  best  known  of  erect- 
growing  trees,  but  alas !  not  hardy  in  the  New  England 
states,  is  the  Irish  or  Florence  Court  Yew  (Taxus 
baccata  var.  fastigiata).  This  most  distinct  Yew  was 
discovered  on  the  mountains  of  Fermanagh,  Ireland, 
near  Florence  Court,  the  seat  of  the  Earl  of  Enniskil- 
len  about  1780,  by  a  tenant-farmer  named  Willis. 
He  found  two  plants,  one  he  planted  in  his  own  gar- 
den where  it  died,  the  other  he  gave  to  Florence 
Court  where  it  grows  to  this  day.  From  this  tree, 
which  is  female,  cuttings  have  been  distributed  and 
from  it  all  the  true  Irish  Yews  in  existence  have  been 
240 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

derived.  Many  fine  specimens  of  this  Yew  are 
known,  some  more  than  30  feet  tall.  The  habit  is 
columnar  and  compact  with  all  the  branches  and 
branchlets  directed  vertically  upward.  The  leaves 
are  dark  green  and  shining  and  spread  radially  in 
all  directions  from  the  branchlets.  It  is  very  effec- 
tive as  a  garden  tree  but  requires  pruning  and  tying 
at  intervals  to  keep  it  in  good  shape.  There  are 
forms  with  golden  (aurea)  and  silver  (argentea) 
tips  to  the  branchlets.  Pollinated  by  the  Common 
Yew  seeds  have  developed  and  have  given  rise  to  less 
fastigiate  forms,  such  as  ereda  and  cheshuntensis, 
which  have  found  their  place  in  gardens.  Another 
form  (elegantissima),  raised  from  seeds  the  result  of 
pollination  by  the  Golden  Yew  (Taxus  baccata  var. 
aurea),  has  the  young  leaves  yellow  and  the  old 
ones  with  white  margins. 

Very  valuable  for  gardens  in  the  colder  parts  of 
this  country  should  prove  the  upright  form  of  the 
Japanese  Yew  {Taxus  cuspidata  var.  Hicksii)  which 
quite  recently  appeared  among  some  thousands  of 
seedlings  of  the  type  in  the  Nursery  of  I.  Hicks 
&  Son,  Westbury,  Long  Island,  New  York.  Mr. 
Henry  Hicks  obligingly  informs  me  that  the  seeds 
were  "probably  collected  from  the  plant  which  stood 
northwest  of  the  residence  of  the  late  Charles  A. 
Dana,  Glen  Cove,  Long  Island,  and  which  was  later 
250 


TREES    OF     UPRIGHT     HABIT 

moved  to  the  estate  of  William  D.  Guthrie,  Locust 
Valley,  Long  Island." 

A  Japanese  plant  analogous  to  the  Irish  Yew  is 
Cephalotaxus  drnpacea  f.  jastigiata,  which  was  intro- 
duced to  the  Botanic  Garden  at  Ghent  in  1830  by 
Von  Siebold.  It  is  commonly  cultivated  in  the 
warmer  parts  of  this  country  but  is  not  hardy  in 
eastern  Massachusetts.  The  branches  are  strictly 
erect  and  the  leaves,  which  spread  on  all  sides  of 
the  shoot,  are  leathery  and  blackish  green. 

There  are  other  trees  of  fastigiate  and  pyramidal 
habit  but  finality  is  not  attempted,  and  this  chapter 
may  fittingly  conclude  with  reference  to  a  remark- 
ably distinct  and  valuable  variety  of  our  old  friend 
Ginkgo  biloba. 

This  form  (fastigiata),  with  its  compact  ascending 
branches,  has  a  bright  future  before  it  as  a  street  and 
avenue  tree.  The  oldest  and  finest  trees  known  grow 
in  Fairmount  Park,  Philadelphia,  concerning  which 
the  Commissioners  courteously  supplied  the  follow- 
ing information:  "There  are  five  specimens  of  the 
pyramidal  form  of  Maidenhair-tree,  Ginkgo  biloba, 
at  Horticultural  Hall.  One  measures  3  feet  2! 
inches  in  circumference  and  is  36  feet  high;  the  other 
four  measure  from  4  feet  5  inches  to  4  feet  i)\  inches 
in  circumference  and  are  from  45  to  55  feet  high. 
The  one  with  the  smallest  circumference  has  two 
251 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

leaders.  We  have  no  definite  information  as  to 
when  these  trees  were  planted,  but  our  oldest  em- 
ployee at  Horticultural  Hall  states  that  a  group  of 
young  Ginkgo-trees  was  exhibited  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Hall  in  1876.  Two  of  this  group  were  trans- 
planted in  1882  to  the  north  side  of  the  Hall,  and 
from  the  similarity  of  measurements  we  presume  the 
others  were  moved  at  the  same  time.  It  might  be  of 
interest  to  you  to  know  that  near  Woodford  Guard 
House  in  Fairmount  Park  we  have  a  specimen  which 
shows  both  the  spreading  base  and  the  pyramidal 
top." 


252 


CHAPTER    XV 
PYGMY    TREES 


CHAPTER    X  V 
PYGMY    TREES 

PREVIOUS  chapters  have  dealt  with  the 
patriarchs,  the  giants,  and  the  eccentric  types 
of  tree-growth;  also  with  trees  of  strictly 
utilitarian  interest,  and  it  now  remains  to  treat  of  the 
pygmy  forms  which  also  have  their  niche  in  Nature's 
scheme.  A  number  of  these  plants,  the  dwarf  Coni- 
fers in  particular,  have  considerable  garden  value. 
Most  people  are  familiar  with  the  dwarfed  trees  of 
Japan  which  in  recent  years  have  been  much  in 
demand  in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  I  shall  have 
something  to  say  about  these  later,  but  first  let  us 
consider  the  diminutive  forms  of  tree-growth  pro- 
duced by  Nature  to  suit  the  exactions  of  exposed 
situations  and  severity  of  climate.  In  the  rich  val- 
leys and  on  the  lower,  sheltered  slopes  of  mountains 
grow  the  giants  of  the  tree  world.  On  the  higher 
parts  of  mountain  ranges  the  wind  exercises  a  strong 
influence  on  vegetation,  diminishing  the  height  of 
trees  and  on  the  topmost  regions  reduces  them  to  a 
255 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

low,  scrubby  growth.  On  seacoasts  the  wind  has 
full  play  and  the  same  effects  are  seen;  also  on  broad 
plains  and  plateaux.  In  short,  the  effect  of  strong 
winds  everywhere  is  to  retard  tree-growth,  and  so  it 
comes  about  that  on  the  coasts,  open  plains,  plateaux, 
and  on  the  summits  of  mountains  dwarf,  stunted 
forms  of  tree-growth  are  common.  These  adapta- 
tions to  environment,  or  ecological  forms,  as  they  are 
technically  called,  are  often  very  distinct  from  the 
parent  types,  but  if  raised  from  seeds  and  cultivated 
under  normal  conditions  they  usually  revert  to  their 
ancestral  forms.  For  example,  the  upper  slopes  of 
Mt.  Fuji  in  Japan  are  clothed  almost  exclusively  with 
dwarf  Larch  which  is  merely  an  ecological  form  of  the 
type  that  in  the  forests  which  cover  the  base  and  lower 
slopes  of  the  mountains  grows  fully  80  feet  tall.  Near 
its  altitudinal  limits  the  gnarled  stems  of  this  dwarf 
Larch  fairly  hug  the  lava  and  cinders.  Some  twenty- 
eight  years  ago  seeds  from  this  prostrate  form  were 
sown  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum  but  the  plants  raised 
from  them  have  rapidly  grown  into  tall  trees,  and  are 
now  quite  indistinguishable  from  others  raised  at  the 
same  time  from  the  typical  Larch-tree  of  the  lower 
forest-zone.  Of  course  there  are  genuine  dwarf 
Larches  which  cannot  be  persuaded  to  grow  into  any- 
thing else,  no  matter  how  they  are  propagated;  but  in 
general  the  stunted  forms  of  tree-types  have  to  be 
256 


PYGMY    TREES 

increased  by  cuttings  or  by  grafting  or  they  lose  their 
diminutive  character. 

Besides  the  wild  pygmies  of  tree-growth  which 
are  the  product  of  the  eternal  war  waged  between 
the  Vegetable  Kingdom  and  the  elemental  physical 
forces  of  Nature  represented  by  temperature,  wind, 
and  precipitation,  there  are  others  of  similar  appear- 
ance which  from  time  to  time  have  appeared  among 
trees  long  associated  with  our  gardens  and  pleasure 
grounds.  In  fact,  many  of  the  dwarf  trees  best 
known  are  of  this  origin.  The  Japanese  are  pas- 
sionately fond  of  pygmy  trees  and  their  skill  in 
developing  them  by  starvation,  clipping,  and  grafting 
exceeds  that  of  any  other  nation.  Among  the 
familiar  types  of  deciduous-leaved  trees  of  our  north- 
ern forests — the  Oaks,  Beeches,  Birches,  Alders, 
Chestnuts,  Elms,  and  others — there  are  scrubby 
forms.  Some  of  the  dwarf  evergreen  Oaks  of  western 
North  America,  eastern  Asia,  and  the  Mediterranean 
are  worthy  plants  where  climate  admits  of  their  out- 
door culture;  so,  too,  are  certain  Maples,  but  in  gen- 
eral the  dwarfs  of  the  broad-leaf  trees  of  the  north 
have  very  little  garden  value.  Among  the  Conifers 
and  Yews  the  story  is  different  and  in  passing  it  may 
be  mentioned  that  these  frequent  alpine  regions  more 
generally  than  do  their  broad-leaf  kin.  And  so  it 
comes  to  pass  that  the  Arborvitajs,  Junipers,  Pines, 
257 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Spruces,  Firs,  Hemlocks,  and  Yews  supply  nearly 
all  the  decorative  dwarf  forms  of  tree-growth  our 
gardens  possess. 

One  of  the  best  known  and  most  widely  used  of 
these  dwarf  evergreens  is  the  Mugho  Pine  (Pinus 
montana,  better  known  as  P.  mughus  or  P.  pumilio). 
This  is  a  native  of  the  mountains  of  central  and 
southern  Europe.  On  the  Pyrenees  it  occurs  both  as 
a  shrub  and  as  a  tree  of  moderate  size;  on  the  Tyrolese 
Alps  it  is  everywhere  a  low,  densely  branched  bush. 
In  cultivation  it  is  a  broad  shrub  with  many  erect 
stems,  occasionally  reaching  the  height  of  15  feet, 
and  covered  with  dark  green  leaves. 

On  the  higher  mountains  of  eastern  Asia  and  north- 
ern Japan,  and  reaching  sea-level  in  Saghalien,  grows 
Pinus  pumila,  in  many  ways  the  counterpart  of  the 
Mugho  but  belonging  to  another  section  of  the  genus. 
This  oriental  dwarf  Pine  is  creeping  in  habit  and 
forms  an  impenetrable  tangle  from  less  than  a  yard  to 
fully  10  feet  in  height.  Unfortunately  it  has  not 
taken  kindly  to  cultivation — yet  why  it  should  be 
intractable  is  unexplainable. 

Of  the  noble  White  Pine  of  eastern  North  America 
(P.  Strobus)  there  are  several  dwarf  forms  of  pleasing 
appearance.  The  best  is  var.  nana,  a  compact,  bushy 
shrub  with  short,  slender  branches  and  numerous 
branchlets  clothed  with  short  leaves  that  are  densely 
258 


°    s  > 

z     *  2 


S     c 

^       2 


W     u     ^ 


(  Ahies  lasioscarpa  var.  compacta)  I  Picea  Abies  var.  Gregoryana) 


[I' in  us  Strobus  var. 


i  /'/)///  i  densi flora  \  ar 
umbrat  uh 


DWARI    ORI E N T A I    S  P R I 

{Picea  orientali s  var. 
compa<  ta  I 


^^ 


';     '*;:5^J**» 


WARI    Hill    SPRUCI 

/'/,  (,;   /vi ;/.  ffl  I   \  ar. 
« OtHpOi  /«;  I 


PYGMY     TREES 

clustered  at  the  extremities  of  the  branchlets.  Others 
are  compacta  and  pumila,  sufficiently  described  by 
their  names,  and  rare  in  cultivation. 

The  Scots  Pine  (P.  sylvestris),  widely  distributed  in 
northern  Europe  and  northern  Asia,  has  given  rise  to 
many  varieties,  among  them  two  or  three  pygmies. 
The  best  are  var.  nana  and  var.  IVatereri  which  are 
pyramidal  in  outline  and,  with  their  gray-green,  stiff 
foliage,  quite  attractive  little  shrubs.  A  stunted  form 
of  the  Japanese  White  Pine  (P.  parviflora)  is  common 
in  the  gardens  of  this  country  and  Europe  often  under 
the  name  of  P.  pentapbylla.  This  form  is  produced 
by  grafting  on  the  Black  Pine  (P.  Thunbergii),  which 
is  an  uncongenial  stock  that  causes  very  slow  growth 
and  stunted  development. 

Of  the  Japanese  Red  Pine  (P.  densiflora)  there  are 
many  forms,  and  theTanyosho^var. umbracnlifera)aLi\d 
Bandaisho  (var.  globosa)  are  among  the  most  useful 
of  all  dwarf  Pines.  The  Tanyosho  or  Table  Pine 
grows  from  5  to  12  feet  tall  and  has  a  dense,  rounded, 
umbrella-like  crown  and  gray-green  leaves.  The 
Bandaisho  is  more  diminutive,  being  seldom  6  feet 
high,  and  has  grass-green  foliage. 

The  Norway  Spruce  {Picea  Abies)   has  been  ex- 
traordinarily  prolific    in    abnormal   forms   of   many 
kinds  and   among  them   half-a-dozen  dwarfs.     The 
var.  Clanbrassiliana  is  seldom  seen  taller  than  from 
259 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

5  to  6  feet;  it  is  globose  or  rounded  in  habit  and  has 
much-shortened  and  close-set  branches,  branchlets, 
and  leaves.  It  originated  on  the  Moira  estate  near 
Belfast  about  the  end  of  the  18th  century  and  was 
introduced  into  England  by  Lord  Clanbrassil,  hence 
its  name.  A  diminutive  variety  is  Gregoryana 
which  seldom  grows  higher  than  2  feet;  its  branches 
and  branchlets  are  very  numerous,  short,  and  spread- 
ing and  are  thickly  clothed  with  short,  stiff  leaves 
spreading  obliquely  from  all  sides.  The  var.  pygmaea 
is  equally  small  and  its  branches  and  branchlets  are 
excessively  shortened;  the  leaves  are  very  small, 
prickly,  and  close  set.  Of  dense  conical  habit  is  the 
var.  pumila  and  its  leaves,  spreading  from  all  sides  of 
the  branchlets,  are  dark  green  and  glaucescent. 
Lastly,  mention  may  be  made  of  var.  dumosa  in 
which  the  branches  are  quite  prostrate  and  furnished 
with  many  slender  branchlets  clothed  with  rather 
distant,  short  leaves.  For  general  purposes  the 
varieties  Clanbrassiliana  and  Gregoryana  are  the 
best  and  they  rank  among  the  most  useful  of  dwarf 
Conifers. 

Of  the  native  Black  Spruce  (P.  mariana)  there  is  a 
variety  (Doumettii)  which  is  compact  and  pyramidal 
in  habit  and  seldom  more  than  10  feet  high  and  of 
bluish  colour.  There  is  also  an  interesting  dwarf 
form  of  the  Blue  Spruce  (P.  pungens).  This  origi- 
260 


PYGMY     TREES 

nated  several  years  ago  in  the  nurseries  of  the  Arnold 
Arboretum  and  promises  to  be  of  value  as  a  decorative 
plant.  Also,  of  the  White  Spruce  (P.  glauca)  there 
is  a  diminutive  form  (nana)  which  has  been  known 
for  nearly  a  hundred  years.  The  most  delightful 
of  dwarf  Spruces  and  a  most  charmingly  attractive 
plant  is  that  being  distributed  under  the  erroneous 
name  of  Picea  Albertiana.  It  is  of  narrow, 
pyramidal  growth  with  short,  close-set,  twiggy 
branches  and  is  densely  clothed  with  almost  pellucid 
grass-green  leaves  of  singular  delicacy.  It  much 
resembles  the  Summer  Cypress  {Kocbia  scoparia), 
and  for  its  successful  cultivation  requires  a  moist 
soil  and  a  shady  situation  with  protection  from  strong 
winds.  It  is  essentially  an  alpine  plant  and  is 
really  a  dwarf  form  of  the  western  variety  of  the  White 
Spruce  (Picea  glauca  var.  albertiana)  and  has  recently 
been  named  f.  conica  by  Render.  Its  history  is 
simple.  In  1904  Mr.  J.  G.  Jack  of  the  Arnold  Arbore- 
tum collected  near  Laggan,  Alberta,  some  seedling 
plants  of  what  he  thought  was  the  var.  albertiana. 
These  he  sent  home  where  they  developed  into  the 
lovely  plant  above  described. 

The  Firs  have  produced  but  few  dwarf  forms.     The 

oldest  known  is  the  var.  hudsonica  of  the  common 

Balsam  Fir  but  this  has  very  little  horticultural  value. 

Of  the  common  European  Fir  (Abies  Picea)  there  is  a 

261 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

reputed  dwarf  form  but  after  a  few  years  this  is  apt 
to  lose  its  character  and  to  grow  into  a  tall  tree.  The 
best  pygmy  Fir  is  A.  lasiocarpa  f.  compada  which 
originated  in  the  Arnold  Arboretum  from  seeds  sent  in 
1873  by  Dr.  C.  C.  Parry  from  Colorado.  It  is  a 
genuine  dwarf  of  compact  habit.  Both  interesting 
and  useful  are  the  diminutive  forms  of  the  Douglas 
Fir  (Pseudotsuga  taxifolia  f.  compada  and  f.  globosa). 
The  common  Hemlock  (Tsuga  canadensis)  has 
given  rise  to  several  abnormal  forms  the  most  dis- 
tinct of  which  are  vars.  pendula  and  compada.  The 
first-named  is  a  compact  form  with  closely  over- 
lapping pendulous  branches  forming  a  broad,  low, 
round-topped  mass.  It  was  discovered  many  years 
ago  on  the  mountains  back  of  Fishkill  Landing  on  the 
Hudson  River  by  the  late  General  Howland  of 
Mattapan,  New  York,  and  named  by  him  Sargent's 
Hemlock  for  his  friend  and  neighbour,  Henry  Win- 
throp  Sargent.  General  Howland  found  four  or  five 
of  these  Hemlocks,  and  one  of  his  original  discoveries 
is  still  living  at  Holm  Lea,  Brookline,  Mass.,  the  estate 
of  Professor  C.  S.  Sargent.  The  variety  has  been 
extensively  propagated  by  grafting  but  such  plants 
grow  more  rapidly,  are  of  more  open,  less  compact 
habit,  and  less  beautiful  than  the  original  seedlings. 
The  var.  compada  is  of  upright,  broadly  pyramidal 
habit,  very  dense,  and  of  rather  stiff  appearance. 
262 


PYGMY     TREES 

Both  these  Hemlocks  are  exceptionally  useful  garden 
plants. 

The  White  Cedars  (Chamaecyparis)  and  Arbor- 
vitaes  (Thuja)  supply  our  gardens  with  a  majority 
of  the  dwarf  Conifers  they  enjoy.  These  and  the 
Junipers  seem  extraordinarily  unstable  in  character 
and  when  raised  from  seeds  all  sorts  of  abnormal 
forms  develop.  Some  have  round,  compact  heads 
only  a  foot  or  two  high,  others  grow  into  large  glo- 
bular masses  and  some  into  narrow  pyramids.  They 
are  of  much  value  for  the  rockery,  lawn,  and  for  mak- 
ing hedges.  Many  dozens  of  such  forms  have  re- 
ceived names,  and  specialists  are  often  at  fault  in 
determining  their  identity.  Their  number  is  legion, 
and  did  I  attempt  to  enumerate  a  tithe  of  them  the 
rest  of  this  article  would  be  a  catalogue.  The  Arbor- 
vitae  of  the  eastern  United  States  (Thuja  occident- 
alis)  has  been  amazingly  prolific  in  these  seminal 
variants  a  number  of  which  are  valuable  dwarfs. 
Among  them  the  forms  umbraculifera,  recurva  nana, 
Tom  Thumb,  IVoodwardii,  Reedii,  and  Little  Gem,  are 
of  the  best.  The  Chinese  Arborvitae  (T.  orientalis), 
which  has  been  in  cultivation  in  Europe  since  1752, 
has  given  rise  to  many  abnormal  forms  parallel  in 
character  to  those  of  the  native  species  but  less  hardy. 
Of  the  common  White  Cedar  {Chamaecyparis  ihu- 
joides)  there  are  two  pygmy  varieties  (ericoides  and 
263 


THE      ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

Jeptoclada)  which  are  very  hardy.  The  Japanese 
species  (C  obtusa  and  C.  pisijera)  have  vied  with  the 
Arborvitae  in  the  production  of  a  multiplicity  of 
curious  forms,  and  such  as  obtusa  nana  and  pisijera 
filifera  are  now  indispensable  to  our  gardens.  Their 
American  relative  C.  Lawsoniana  of  the  Pacific  Slope 
has  been  equally  prolific  though  its  progeny  are  more 
tender.  In  England  and  parts  of  this  country  fa- 
voured with  a  moderate  climate  the  dwarf  forms  of 
the  Lawson  Cypress  are  delightful  garden  plants. 

The  inherent  peculiarity  of  the  above  Arborvitaes 
and  White  Cedars  to  produce  when  raised  from  seeds 
great  variety  in  form,  height,  and  appearance  is  like- 
wise shared  by  some  Junipers.  The  Red  Cedar 
(Juniperus  virginiana),  its  Chinese  relative  (/.  chinen- 
sis),  the  Common  Juniper  (/.  communis),  the  Savin 
(J.  Sabina),  and  the  scaly  Juniper  (/.  squamata)  are 
well-known  illustrations.  In  fact,  the  probability  is 
that  all  Tree  Junipers  develop  dwarf  forms,  but  the 
genus  is  difficult  to  classify  and  its  nomenclature  is  in 
a  sorry  state.  Such  dwarf  Junipers  as  /.  virginiana 
var.  tripartita,  J.  chinensis  var.  Pfit^eriana,  J.  com- 
munis vars.  montana  and  adpressa,  and  J.  Sabina 
vars.  tamariscifolia  and  humilis  are  too  well  known 
to  need  comment.  The  typical  J.  squamata  is  a  fa- 
vourite ground-cover,  and  its  tree-form  is  represented 
by  the  var.  Fargesii.  The  low-spreading  /.  virginiana 
264 


PYGMY    TREES 

var.  reptans  is  a  comparatively  recent  discovery  in 
Maine  where  it  grows  on  the  seacoast  at  Bald  Head 
Cliff  near  York  Harbour;  the  var.  globosa,  well  de- 
scribed by  its  name,  is  a  lovely  plant  worth  a  place  in 
every  garden.  The  prostrate  J.  chinensis  var. 
Sargentii,  common  on  the  mountains  of  Korea,  and  in 
eastern  Siberia,  and  less  so  in  northern  Japan,  is  per- 
haps the  best  of  all  prostrate  Junipers  that  are  ecolog- 
ical forms  of  arborescent  species.  Dwarf  Yews  have 
been  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter  so  there  is  no 
need  to  discuss  them  here. 

There  are  a  few  flowering  trees  that  must  not  be 
forgotten.  Foremost  among  these  is  the  Fuji  Cherry 
(Prunus  incisa)  native,  as  its  name  suggests,  of  the 
region  around  the  famed  Mt.  Fuji.  At  its  best  this  is 
a  small  tree,  occasionally  30  feet  tall  but  as  usually 
seen  it  is  less  than  10  feet,  with  twiggy,  ascending- 
spreading  branches  from  near  the  ground  up.  The 
petals  are  pure  white  and  the  sepals  are  reddish  and 
long  persistent.  It  commences  to  blossom  when 
young  and  not  more  than  a  yard  high  and  is  exceed- 
ingly floriferous.  I  saw  it  first  in  the  spring  of  191 4 
when  travelling  in  Japan  and  then  and  there  became 
its  willing  captive.  It  is  a  quite  recent  addition  to 
gardens  having  been  introduced  into  Germany  by  seeds 
sent  from  Japan  under  the  erroneous  name  of  Prunus 
pseudocerasus.  It  is  appreciated  by  the  Japanese 
265 


THE     ROMANCE     OF     OUR     TREES 

gardeners  as  the  only  Cherry  they  can  dwarf  and 
cause  to  flower  in  pots.  Another  dwarf  Japanese 
Cherry  is  P.  subhirtella  var.  autumnalis  which  has 
semi-double  pink  flowers,  and  blossoms  in  spring  or 
autumn  or  both  seasons.  It  is  a  twiggy,  often  vase- 
shaped  tree  from  6  to  12  feet  tall,  and  about  as  free- 
blooming  as  its  most  charming  parent,  the  lovely 
Spring  Cherry,  P.  subhirtella. 

The  low-growing  Mains  Sieboldii  is  less  beautiful  in 
flower  and  fruit  than  other  Japanese  Crabapples  but 
a  close  relative  M.  Sargentii  is  especially  valuable. 
This  species  is  native  of  the  salt  marshes  around  Muro- 
ran,  Hokkaido,  northern  Japan,  where  it  wasdiscovered 
in  1892  by  Professor  Sargent,  and  introduced  into  the 
Arnold  Arboretum.  It  has  rigid,  spreading  branches, 
the  lower  ones  flat  on  the  ground,  and  is  particularly 
well  suited  for  covering  slopes  and  banks.  The  flow- 
ers, abundantly  produced  in  umbel-like  clusters, 
are  saucer-shaped,  round,  and  of  the  purest  white; 
they  are  followed  by  a  wealth  of  wine-coloured  fruit 
which  is  covered  by  a  slight  bloom  and  remains  on 
the  plants  until  the  following  spring. 

An  earlier  chapter  is  devoted  to  the  Common  Horse- 
chestnut  and  it  is  fitting  that  in  bringing  this  work 
to  a  close  to  say  a  few  words  about  the  Dwarf  Buck- 
eyes of  which  three  species  are  thriving  in  the  Arnold 
Arboretum.  They  have  long  been  overlooked  or 
266 


PYGMY     TREES 

confounded  with  other  species  yet  rank  among  the 
handsomest  flowering  plants  of  the  Southern  states. 
One  (Aesculus  georgiana)  has  short,  compact  clusters 
of  red  and  yellow  flowers ;  those  of  another  {A.  discolor) 
are  yellow  flushed  with  rose  and  have  a  red  calyx. 
A  variety  {mollis)  of  the  latter,  and  known  in  books  as 
A.  austrina,  has  scarlet  flowers.  This  plant  is  widely 
distributed  from  Georgia  to  Texas  and  southeastern 
Missouri,  and  is  the  only  red-flowered  Buckeye  found 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  The  third  {A.  Har- 
bisonii)  is  probably  of  hybrid  origin  and  is  the  latest 
of  its  class  to  blossom.  The  stem  and  branches  of  the 
flower-cluster  and  the  calyx  of  the  flowers  are  rose 
coloured;  the  petals  are  canary-yellow,  slightly 
streaked  with  red  toward  the  margins.  It  is  for- 
tunate that  these  pygmy  Buckeyes  with  their  hand- 
some flowers  are  so  ha1  rdy  for  they  are  among  the  most 
desirable  plants  that  have  been  added  to  our  gardens, 
and  for  them  garden  lovers  have  to  thank  the  Arnold 
Arboretum. 

THE    END 


267 


D.  H.  HILL  LIBRARY 


INDEX 


NDEX 


Abies  balsamea  var.  hudsonica,  261 

Abies  lasiocarpa  f.  eompacta,  262 

Acer  platanoides  var.  columnar t,  245 

Acer  rubrum  var.  columnar e,  244 

/Iffr  saccharinum  var.  pyramidale,  244 

/lc<rr  saccharum  var.  monumenlale,  244 

i4ccr  striatum,  bark  easily  injured,  28 

Acorn,  use  of  as  food,  1 74 

Addison,  Joseph,  ridicule  of  topiary  work, 
105 

Aesculus  discolor,  267 

Aesculus  discolor  var.  mollis,  267 

Aesculus  georgiana,  267 

Aesculus  Harbisonii,  267 

^4esfu/M5  Hippocastanum  var.  pyramidalis, 
247 

Almond,  the  nut  of  commerce,  195 

Apple,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  40;  history 
of  the,  203 

Apricot,  of  Chinese  origin,  213 

Apricot,  Black,  214 

Apricot,  Manchurian,  214 

Araucarias,  among  earliest  forms  of  tree 
vegetation,  10,  11 

Arborvitae,  dwarf  form3  of,  263 

Arborvitae,  Douglas's,  pyramidal  variety 
of,  248 

Archery,  importance  of  Yew  tree  in  history, 
99,  104 

Arnold  Arboretum,  success  with  Cedar  of 
Lebanon,  83;  collection  of  Beech.  158; 
Juglans  formosana  in,  180;  hardy  Pecan 
in,  183;  Asiatic  Bush-hazels  hardy  in, 
194;  Pyrus  scrotina  introduced  into  by 
Mr.  Wilson,  209;  P.  Calleryana  ditto,  210; 
Prunus  mira  ditto,  212;  fastigiatc  vari- 
eties of  Sugar  Maple  and  White  Pine  at, 
244;  248.  fastigiatc  Tulip-tree  at,  245; 
Dawyck  Beech  at,  247;  Dwarf  Larch 
not  true  from  seed.  256;  dwarf  form  of 
Blue  Spruce  originates  in,  260;  ditto  of 
White  Spruce,  261;  ditto  Abies  lasio- 
carpa i.  eompacta,  262;  Dwarf  Buckeyes 
at,  266 

Ash,  fall  colouration  of  foliage;  40 


27 


Bacon,  Lord,  opponent  of  topiary  woflt,  105 
Baker,  Sir  Samuel,  discovers  Cedrus  brevi- 

folia,  89 
Balfour,  F.  R.  S  ,  Dawyck  Beech  originated 

on  estate  of,  247 
Banks,    Sir    Joseph,    introduces    Magnolia 

denudata  into  England,  143 
Bark  of  trees,  function  and  formation,  28 
Bartram,  John,  letter  from  Peter  Collinson 
on  planting  seeds  of  Cedar  of  Lebanon, 
87;  on  introduction  of  Horsechestnut  into 
America,  124;  introduces  Cucumber-tree 
into  Europe,  138 
Bartram,   W.,  discoverer  of  Ear-leaf  Um- 
brella-tree, 141 
Bay  Laurel,  or  Bull    Bay     noblest  of  the 

evergreens,  141 
Beech,  character  of  the  bark,  30;  fall  colour- 
ation of  foliage,  39,  41,  42;  history  and 
habitat,    155;    famous    trees    in    Great 
Britain,   156,    163;   the  different  species, 
159;  distribution,  160;  forms  recognized, 
162;  use  for  hedges,  163;  the  nut  and  its 
uses,  170 
Beech,  Copper,  seedling  of  the  Purple,  167 
Beech,  Crested-leaf,  168 
Beech,  Dawyck,  a  fastigiatc  form,  246 
Beech,  Fastigiate,  original  tree  on  Balfour 

estate,  Scotland,  169 
Beech,  Fern-leaf,  and  forms,  167 
Beech,  Golden,  discovered  in  Serbia,  169 
Beech,  Parasol,  of  French  origin,  169 
Beech,    Purple,    best    tree    with    coloured 

leaves,  166 
Beech,  Weeping,  and  various  forms,  168 
Belon,  Pierre,  early  visitor  of  Cedars  on 

Mt.  Lebanon,  80 
Bertlioletia  excelsa,  the  Brazil-nut,   176 
Betula  ptndula  var.  fastigiata,  246 
Big  Trees,  thickness  of  the  bark.  30 
Bigclow,    Dr.   Jacob,    poem  on   moving   of 

Ginkgo  to  Boston  Common,  57 
Birch,  character  of  the  bark.  29.  30,  31 
Birch,  character  of  the  bark,  29,  30,  31; 
fall  colouration  of  foliage,  39,  40,  41 

I 


INDEX 


Bitternut,  best  stock  for  giafting  Hickories 
and  Pecans,  186 

Brazil-nut,  importance  as  food  nut,  176 

Brown,  "Capability,"  opposed  to  clipped 
hedges  and  topiary  work,  106 

Buckeye,  species  of  horsechestnut,  126 

Buckeye,  Dwarf,  Handsomest  of  flowering 
trees,  266 

Bunge,  Dr.  Alexander  von,  tale  of  prodi- 
gious Ginkgo  near  Peking,  59 

Burbank,  Luther,  Walnut  hybrids  origin- 
ated by,  182 

Burnham  Beeches,  celebrated  in  song  and 
story,  155,  156,  164 

Butternut,  fall  colouration  of  leaves,  39 

Butternuts,  American  and  Asiatic  species, 
180 

Button-tree,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  39 

Canarium  commune,  the  Pili-nut,  176 

Carpinus  Betulus  var.  globosa,  246 

Carpinus  Betulus  var.  pyramidalis,  246  ] 

Carya  Cathayensis,  183 

Carya  cordiformis,  used  as  stock  for  graft- 
ing, 186 

Carya  Dunbarii,  a  hybrid,  184 

Carya  lacinosa,  185 

Carya  Laneyi,  a  valuable  hybrid,  184 

Carya  ovata,  184 

Carya  pecan,  183 

Castanea  alnifolia,  dwarf  Chestnut,  190 

Castanea  crenata,  188 

Castanea  dentala,  disappearing  through 
Chestnut-blight  186,  190 

Castanea  Henryana,  largest  of  Asiatic 
chestnuts,  189 

Castanea  mollissima,  introduced  by  Profes- 
sor Sargent,  lii9 

Castanea  pumila,  used  in  effort  to  obtain 
immune  hybrid,  187;  of  value  to  hybri- 
dists, 190 

Castanea  Seguinii,  190 

Catalpa,  fall  colouration  of  leaves,  39 

Cedar,  among  earliest  forms  of  tree  vege- 
tation, 10,  11 

Cedar,  date  from  Cretaceous  period,  92 

Cedar,  Atlas,  habitat,  88;  how  it  differs 
from  Cedar  of  Lebanon,  88;  in  England 
and  France,  89;  varieties  of,  89 

Cedar,  Deodar,  habitat,  90;  introduced 
into  England,  91;  varieties  of,  91;  value 
as  timber,  94 

Cedar,  Incense,  distribution,  15;  of  fasti- 
giate  form,  249 


Cedar  Red,  dwarf  forms  of,  264 

Cedar,  White,  dwarf  forms  of,  263 

Cedar  of  Lebanon,  among  earliest  form  of 
tree  vegetation,  11;  Biblical  reference  to, 
78;  habitat,  80,  82;  early  reports  of  visi- 
tors to  Mt.  Lebanon,  80;  successful 
growth  at  Arnold  Arboretum,  83;  varie- 
ties of,  83;  notable  specimens  in  England, 
84;  on  the  Continent,  86;  in  the  United 
States,  87 

Cedrus  atlantica,  88 

Ccdrus  brevijolia,  89 

Cedrus  deodora,  90 

Cedrus  libani.     See  Cedar  of  Lebanon. 

Ccphalotaxus  drupacea  f.  fasligiata,  251 

Chamaecyparis  obtusa  nana,  264 

Chamaecyparis  pisifera  filifera,  264 

Chamaecyparis  thujoides  var.  ericoides,  263 

Chamaecyparis  thujoides  var.  leptoclada,  264 

Chambers,  B.  E.  C,  first  to  flower  Mag- 
nolia obovata,  149 

Cherry,  character  of  the  bark,  31;  fall  col- 
ouration of  foliage,  40 

Cherry,  Bush,  common  wild  shrub  in 
China,  217 

Cherry,  Chinese,  217 

Cherry,  Fuji,  dwarf  flowering  tree,  265 

Cherry,  Sand,  218 

Cherry,  Sour,  habitat,  215 

Cherry,  Sweet,  habitat,  215;  in  ancient 
history,  216 

Chestnut,  character  of  the  bark,  29,  30; 
fall  colouration  of  foliage,  39,  41,  42 

Chestnut,  Chinese,  hardy  and  valuable  for 
hybridizing,  189 

Chestnut,  European,  largest  and  noblest 
of  European  trees,  188 

Chestnut,  Japanese,  valuable  and  hardy 
nut  tree,  188 

Chestnut-blight  ravages  of,  186 

Chestnut  Sunday,  observed  near  London, 
117 

China,  ancient  flora  of,  19 

Chinquapin  used  in  breeding  an  immense 
Chestnut  hybrid,  187;  the  bush  Chestnut, 
190 

Clark,  W.  S.,  introduces  Magnolia  hobus 
var.  borealis,  145 

Cocoa-nut,  most  valuable  food  nut,  176 

Co<os  nucifcra,  most  important  of  nut  trees, 
176 

Collinson,  Peter,  letter  to  John  Bartram  on 
planting  seeds  of  Cedar  of  Lebanon,  87; 
on    introduction    of    horsechestnut    into 


272 


NDEX 


America,  123,  124;  with  John  Barlram 
introduces  Cucumber-tree  to  Europe,  138; 
on  history  of  Weeping  Willow,  235 

Colouration  of  autumn  leaves,  35;  how  ef- 
fected, 37;  few  trees  show  colour  in  Great 
Britain,   13 

Cornel,  character  of  the  bark,  32;  fall  col- 
ouration of  foliage,  40 

Corylus  americana,  194 

Corylus  Avellatia,  192 

Corylus  californica,  193 

Corylus  chinensis,  191 

Corylus  colurna,  191 

Corylus  ferox,  194 

Corylus  hallaisanensis,  195 

Corylus  heterophylla,  194 

Corylus  heterophylla  var.  yunnanensis,  195 

Corylus  heterophylla  var.  sutchuenensis,  195 

Corylus  intermedia,  193 

Corylus  Jacquemontii,  191 

Corylus  maxima,  193 

Corylus  pontica,  193 

Corylus  rostrata,  193 

Corylus  Sieboldii,  194 

Corylus  tibetica,  194 

Cottage  Gardens  Nursery,  succeeds  in 
flowering  Magnolia  salicifolia,  148 

Crataegus  monogyna  var.  monumentalis,  247 

Crataegus  monogyna  var.  stricta,  247 

Crepe  Myrtle,  character  of  the  bark,  31 

Cucumber-tree,  for  avenue  planting,  135, 
138 

Cucumber-tree,  Yellow-flowered,  discov- 
ered by  Michaux,  138 

Cycads,  early  evolution  of,  9,  10,  11 

Cydonia  vulgaris,  the  quince,  210 

Cypress,  Lawson,  dwarf  forms  of,  264 

De  Candolle,  recognizes  female  Ginkgo 
near  Geneva,  56 

Diaportha  parasitica,  the  Chestnut-blight, 
187 

Dickson,  Messrs,  originators  of  Taxus 
baccata  var.  adpressa.  111 

Diospyros  kaki,  Japanese  Persimmon,  223 

Dogwood,  Poison,  fall  colouration  of  foli- 
age, 40 

Douglas,  Roliert  originator  of  Douglas's 
Arborvitac,  218 

Dwarf  or  pygmy  forms  of  tree  growth,  255 

Elm,   character  of   the   bark,   29,    31;    fall 

colouration  of  foliage,  39 
Elm,  Cornish,  fastigiate  variety,  245 


Elm,  Exeter,  the  fastigiate  form,  245 
Elm,  Guernsey,  of  upright  habit,  245 
Estaugh,  Elizabeth  Haddon,  famous  Yew 
trees  planted  by,  109 

Fagus  Engleriana,  159 

Fagus  grandifolia,  159 

Fagus  Ilayatae,  159 

Fagus  japonica,  159 

Fagus  longipetiolata,  159 

Fagus  lucida,  159 

Fagus  multinervis,  159 

Fagus  orientalis,  159 

Fagus  Sieboldii,  159 

Fagus  sylvatica,  155 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  atropurpurea,  167 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  borneyensis,  168 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  cristata,  168 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  dawyckii,  169,  246 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  grandidentala,  168 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  heterophylla,  167 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  macrophylla,  168 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  miltonensis,  169 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  pagnyensis,  169 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  pendula,  168 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  purpurea,  166 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  purpurea  pendula,  167 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  quercoides,  168 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  remillyensis,  169 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  rolundifotia,  168 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  tortuosa,  169 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  tricolor,  167 

Fagus  sylvatica  var.  zlatia,  169 

Fastigiate  trees,  243 

Filberts,  varieties  and  habitat,  192 

Fir,  Balsam,  dwarf  form  of,  261 

Fir,  Douglas,  distribution,  15 

Fir,  Douglas,  dwarf  forms  of,  262 

Fir,  European,  dwarf  form  of,  261 

Fortune,      Robert,      introduces      Castanea 

Seguinii  into  England,  190 
Fraser,  John,  introduces  Ear-leaf  Umbrella- 
tree  into  Europe,  141 
Fruit  trees  and  their  history,  199 

Ginkgo  biloba,  in  Tertiary  period,  18; 
one  of  the  earliest  forms  of  tree  vegeta- 
tion, 9,  10,  11;  fall  colouration  of  foliage, 
39,  41;  oldest  existing  type  of  tree,  •  ',.>; 
original  habitat  unknown,  51;  earliest 
Chinese  record  of,  52;  derivation  of 
name,  53;  introduction  in  Eun>|. 
name  Ginkgo  biloba  given  by  Linnaeus. 
51;  story  of  its  introduction  into  Prance, 


-7^ 


INDEX 


55;  discovery  of  female  tree  near  Geneva, 
from  which  grafts  were  sent  all  over 
Europe,  56;  introduction  into  America, 
56;  historic  tree  moved  to  Boston  Com- 
mon, 57;  in  China,  58;  in  Korea  and 
Japan,  59;  location  of  oldest,  and  ln-st 
specimens  in  America,  62;  in  Canada,  64; 
in  England  and  the  Continent,  65; 
varieties  of  the  type,  66;  peculiarities 
and  habits,  66;  use  of  the  nuts,  72,  175; 
fastigiate  form  at  Fairmount  Park, 
Philadelphia,  251 

Glacial  drift,  influence  on  vegetation,  18, 
51;  effect  on  Cedar  forests,  93 

Gleditsia,  distribution  of,  15,  17;  character 
of  the  bark,  31;  fall  colouration  of  foli- 
age, 39 

Hall,  Dr.  George  R.,  introduces  Japanese 
Yew  into  America,  110;  introduces 
Magnolia  stellato,  146 

Hamilton,  William,  introduces  Ginkgo 
into  America,  56,  62;  introduces  Lom- 
bardy  Poplar  into  America,  231 

Hammon  &  Co.,  W.  P.,  propagators  of 
Japanese  plums,  221 

Hawthorn,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  40 

Hazel-nuts,  importance  as  food,  175; 
their  distribution,  191 

Hemlock,  dwarf  forms  of,  262 

Henry  Dr.  on  habitat  of  Atlas  Cedar,  88 

Hickory,  Character  of  the  bark,  31;  fall 
colouration  of  foliage,  39 

Hickory,  Shagbark,  importance  and  dis- 
tribution, 184 

Hicks  &  Son,  Isaac,  originators  of  Taxus 
cuspidata  var.  Hicksii,  112;  originators  of 
upright  form  of  Japanese  Yew,  250 

Hirase,  Prof.  S.,  discovers  motile  male 
sperms  of  Ginkgo  biloba,  60 

Holly,  bark  easily  injured,  28 

Honey-locust,  distribution,  15,  17;  char- 
acter of  the  bark,  31;  fall  colouration  of 
foliage,  39 

Hooker,  Sir  Joseph,  visits  Cedars  on  Mt. 
Lebanon,  80;  on  habitat  of  Atlas  Cedar; 
88;  on  prehistoric  Cedar  forests,  92 

Hornbeam,  character  of  the  bark,  30 

Hornbeam,  European,  upright  forms  of, 
246 

Horsechestnut,  fall  colouration  of  foliage, 
39;  handsomest  flowering  tree,  117; 
a  native  of  Greece,   128,   120;  origin  of 


name,  120;  introduction  into  Europe, 
121;  into  America,  123;  description  of 
tree,  flowers  and  fruit,  125;  American 
and  Old  World  species,  126;  uses  of 
wood  and  nuts,  127;  varieties  of,  128; 
double-flowered,  129;  hybrids,  129; 
fastigiate  form,  247 

Howland,  General,  discoverer  of  Tsuga 
canadensis  var.  pendula,  262 

Hume,  Lady  Amelia,  introduces  Magnolia 
coco,  151 

Influence  of  trees  on  human  race,  3 

Japan,  ancient  flora  of,  19;  people  delight  in 

autumn  beauty  of  trees,  43 
Jardin  des  Plantes,  Paris,  historic  Cedar  of 

Lebanon  in,  87 
Juglans  californica,  180 
Juglans  cathayensis,  181 
Juglans  cinerea,  American  Butternut,  180 
Juglans  formosana,  180 
Juglans  Hindsii,  180 
Juglans  mandshurica,  181 
Juglans  nigra,  valuable  timber  tree,  180 
Juglans  regia,  improved  by  selection,  175; 

most  important  of  nut  trees,  176 
Juglans  rupestris,  180 

Juglans  Sieboldiana,  Kurume  Walnut,  179 
Juglans  Sieboldiana  var.  cordiformis,  179 
Juglans  stenocarpa,  181 
Jujube,    introduced    by   Frank    N.    Meyer, 

223 
Juniper,  dwarf  forms  of,  264 
Juniperus  communis  var.  adpressa,  264 
Juniperus  communis  var.  monlana,  264 
Juniperus  chinensis  var.  Pfitzeriana.  264 
Juniperus  chinensis  var.  Sargentii,  265 
Juniperus  Sabina  var.  humilis,  264 
Juniperus  Sabina  var.  lamariscifolia,  264 
Juniperus  squamata,  264 
Juniperus  virginiana  var.  globosa,  265 
Juniperus  virginiana  var.  reptans,  264 
Juniperus  virginiana  var.  tripartita,  264 
Jussieu,  Bernard  de,  introduces  Cedar  of 

Lebanon  into  France,  87 

Kaempfer,  Engelbert,  first  describes  Ginkgo 

to  Europe,  54 
Kentucky  Coffee-Tree,  only  two  species  of, 

15;  character  of  the  bark,  31 
Kew   Gardens,   first   in   Europe   to   flower 

Ginkgo  biloba,  54;  first  to  flower  Magnolia 

Watsonii,  150;  and  M.  Dclavayi,  151 


74 


INDEX 


Kilmer,  Joyce,  poem  on  Trees,  6 
King -nut,  one  of  the  most  important  nut 
trees,  185 

LagerBtroemia,  character  of  the  hark,  31 
Larch,    Dwarf,   seeds    from  Mt.  Fuji  sown 

in  Arnold  Arboretum,  256 
Libocedrus  decurrens,  249 
Liquidambar,  distribution,  17 
Linden,  character  of  the  bark,  31;  fall  col- 
ouration of  foliage,  39 
Linnaeus,  names  Ginkgo  biloba,  54 
Liriodendron  Tulipifera  var.  pyramidale,  245 
Locb,    William,    introduces    Western   Yew 
into  England,  109 

Magnolia,  in  Tertiary  period,  18;  habitat 
and  number  of  species,  133;  fossil  re- 
mains from  Tertiary  period,  13  1 

Magnolia,  Great-leaf,  description  and  habi- 
tat, 1 10 

Magnolia  acuminata,  value  for  street  plant- 
ing, 135 

Magnolia  Alexandria,  145 

Magnolia  CampbeUii,  gorgeous  but  not 
hardy.  147 

Magnolia  coco  (syn.  M.  pumila)  not  hardy, 
150 

Magnolia  cordala,  discovered  by  Michaux, 
138 

Magnolia  cyathiformis,  145 

Magnolia  Delavayi,  introduced  by  Mr.  Wil- 
son, 1908 

Magnolia  denudata  (syn.  M.  conspicua) ,  143 

Magnolia  denudata  var.  purpurascens 
(syn.  M.  obovata  var.  discolour),  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Wilson,  143 

Magnolia  Fraseri,  Ear-leaf  Umbrella-tree, 
111 

Magnolia  grandillora,  most  popular  of  the 
genera  in  America,  134;  noblest  of  the 
evergreens,  141;  varieties  of,  142 

Magnolia  kobus,  common  in  Japan,  145 

Magnolia  kobus  var.  borealis,  most  northern 
of  the  species,  145 

Magnolia  Lennei,  145 

Magnolia  lilitlora  (syn.  M.  obovata,  M. 
purpurea  or  M.  discolor),  1  1 1 

Magnolia  macrophylla,  largest  leaved  tree 
in  temperate  zone,  139 

Magnolia  obovata  (syn.  M.  Iiypoleuca),  in- 
troduced from  Japan,  148 

Magnolia  officinalis,  introduced  by  Mr. 
Wilson,  149 


Magnolia  pani/bra,  lloriferous  and  sup- 
posedly hardy,  149 

Magnolia  pyramidala,  a  popular  species, 
l.'d;  tender  in  New  England,  l  ll 

Magnolia  salicifolia,  not  hardy  in  New 
England  states,  133;  introduced  by  Pro- 
fessor Sargent,  147 

Magnolia  Sargentiana,  discovered  and 
introduced  by  Mr.  Wilson,  147 

Magnolia  Soulangeana,  a  hybrid,  144 

Magnolia  speciosa,  145 

Magnolia  spectabilis,  145 

Magnolia  stellata  (syn.  M.  Halliana,  popu- 
larity of,  131;  introduced  by  Dr.  George 
K.  Hall,  146 

Magnolia  superba,  145 

Magnolia  tripelala,  140 

Magnolia  triumphans,  145 

Magnolia  virginiana  (syn.  M.  glauca),  value 
to  gardens,  and  habitat,  137;  varieties  of, 
137 

Magnolia  Watsonii,  not  hardy  in  New  Eng- 
land states,  133;  of  mysterious  origin,  150 

Magnolia  Wilsonii,  discovered  and  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Wilson,  150 

Magnolia,  Yulan,  introduced  into  England 
by  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  1 13;  natural  habi- 
tat, 143 

Maidenhair-tree,  see  Ginkgo  biloba 

Malus  prunifolia  var.  rinki,  206 

Malus  pumila,  parent  of  modern  apples, 
205 

Malus  Sargentii,  266 

Malus  Sieboldii,  266 

Mains  sylvestris,  205 

Maple,  character  of  the  bark,  30;  fall  col- 
ouration of  leaves,  35,  36,  40,  41,  42;  fasti- 
giate  varieties,  244,  245 

Maple,  Silver,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  40 

Medlar,  old  but  little-known  fruit,  210 

Melville,  Hon.  Leslie,  introduces  Deodar 
Cedar  into  England,  91 

Mespilus  germanica,  210 

Meyer,  Frank  N.,  observations  on  Ginkgo, 
58;  introduces  the  jujub 

MontiK-llier  Botanic  Garden,  notable 
Ginkgo  at,  56 

Morchella  csculcnta,  found  in  Beech  woods 
170 

Morel,  Common,  gathered  in  Beech  woods, 
170 

Mountain-ash,  fall  colouration  of  foliage, 
10 

Mulberry,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  39 


^75 


INDEX 


Natural  History  Review,  article  by  Sir  Jo- 
seph Hooker  on  Cedars  of  Lebanon,  80 

Nectarine,  of  Chinese  origin,  211 

Nut  fruits  and  manner  of  seed  distribution, 
173 

Nut-pine,  Korean,  seeds  used  as  food,  175 

Oak,   character  of  the   bark,   29,   31;   fall 

colouration  of  foliage,  40,  41,  42 
Oak,  Cypress,  upright  growing  variety,  246 
Orange-tree,   brought   from   India   by  sol- 
diers of  Alexander  the  Great,  22;  intro- 
duced into  Persia  from  China,  22 

Parson,  S.  B.  (Flushing  Nursery),  dis- 
tributes Magnolia  slellata,  146;  fastigiate 
Red  Maple  at,  244 
Peach,  introduced  into  Persia  from  China, 
22;  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  40;  history 
of  the,  210;  search  for  hardy  varieties, 
212 
Pear,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  40;  history, 

206 
Pecan,  oldest  cultivated  nut  tree  of  Amer- 
ica, 183 
Persimmon,  character  of  the  bark,  32 
Picea  Abies  var.  Clanbrassiliana,  259 
Picea  Abies  var.  columnaris,  248 
Picea  Abies  var.  pyramidalis,  248 
Picea  Abies  var.  dumosa,  260 
Picea  Abies  var.  Gregoryana,  260 
Picea  Abies  var.  pumila,  260 
Picea  Abies  var.  pygmaea,  260 
Picea  glauca  var.  albertiana  f.  conica,  261 
Picea  glauca  var.  nana,  261 
Picea  mariana  var.  Doumettii,  260 
Pili-nut,  as  a  food  nut,  176 
Pine,    Mugho,    most    widely    used    dwarf 

evergreens,  258 
Pine,  Norfolk  Island,  among  earliest  forms 

of  tree  vegetation,  11 
Pine,  Red,  Japanese,  dwarf  forms  of,  259 
Pine,  Scots,  fastigiate  form  of,  248 
Pine,  Scots,  dwarf  forms  of,  259 
Pine,  Sugar,  seeds  used  as  food,  175 
Pine,  Swiss,  seeds  used  as  food,  175 
Pine,  White,  dwarf  forms  of,  258 
Pine,  White,  fastigiate  variety  of,  244,  248 
Pine,  Japanese  White,  dwarf  forms  of,  259 
Pinus  cembra,  seeds  used  as  food,  175 
Pinus  koraiensis,  seeds  used  as  food,  175 
Pinus  Lamberliana,  seeds  used  as  food,  175 
Pinus    tnontana    (syn.    P.    mughus    or    P. 
pumilio),  258 


Pinus  parviflora  (syn.  P.  pentaphylla),  259 

Pinus  pumila,  258 

Pinus  Strobus  var.  fastigiata,  248 

Pinus  Strobus  var.  nana,  258 

Pinus  sylvestris  var.  nana,  259 

Pinus  sylvestris  var.  pyramidalis,  248 

Pinus  sylvestris  var.  Watereri,  259 

Pinus  densiflora  var.  globosa,  259 

Pinus  densiflora  var.  umbraclifera,  259 

Plane-tree,  character  of  the  bark,  31 

Plum,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  40;  history, 
and  derivation  of  varieties,  220 

Plum  Beach,  223 

Plum,  Canada,  222 

Plum,  Chicasaw,  223 

Plum,  Japanese,  introduction  into  America, 
221 

Plum,  Pacific,  222 

Plum-cot,  hybrid  of  Apricot  and  Plum,  221 

Pocock,  Dr.  Edward,  credited  with  intro- 
duction of  Cedar  of  Lebanon  into  Eng- 
land, 84 

Pope,  Alexander,  ridicule  of  topiary  work, 
105;  famous  Weeping  Willow  in  garden 
of,  235 

Portland,  Duke  of,  introduces  Magnolia 
liliflora  into  England,  144 

Poplar,  character  of  the  bark,  30;  fall 
colouration  of  foliage,  39 

Poplar,  Lombardy,  history  and  proper 
uses,  227;  habitat,  230;  introduced  into 
Europe  and  America,  231;  in  landscape 
planting,  237 

Populus  alba  var.  pyramidalis  (syn.  P. 
Bolleana),  247 

Populus  euphratica,  232 

Populus  theveslina,  247 

Proctor,  T.  E.,  succeeds  fn  flowering  Mag- 
nolia salicifolia,  147 

Prunus  americana,  best  known  of  native 
Plums,  222 

Prunus  Amygdalus,  the  Almond,  195 

Prunus  angustifolia,  223 

Prunus  Armeniaca,  213 

Prunus  avium,  214 

Prunus  Besseyi,  218 

Prunus  cerasifera,  220 

Prunus  cerasus,  214 

Prunus  dasycarpa,  214 

Prunus  domestica,  218 

Prunus  horlulana,  222 

Prunus  incisa,  265 

Prunus  insititia,  218 

Prunus  mandshurica,  214 


276 


INDEX 


Prunus  maritima,  223 

Primus  Munsoniana,  222 

PruttUS  nigra,  222 

Piunus  persica,  of  Chinese  origin,  211 

Primus  pseudocerasus,  217 

Primus  pumila,  218 

Promts  salicina  (Syn.  P.  triflora),  220 

I'nmus  sibirica,  213 

Primus  Simoiiii,  hybrid  Plum-apricot,  221 

Primus  subcordata,  222 

Primus  subkirteUa  var.  autumnalis,  2GG 

Primus  lomentosa,  217 

Pseudotsuga  taxifolia  f.  compacta,  262 

Pseudotsuga  taxifolia  f.  globosa,  262 

P>rws  Calleryana,  210 

Pjyrws  serotina,  208,  209 

Pjyrus  ussuriensis,  208,  209 


Quercus  ballota,  acorni  used  as  food,  174 
Quercus  ptdunculata  var.  fastigiata,  246 
Quince,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  40 
Quince,  history  of  the,  210 

Robinia,  character  of  the  bark,  31 
Rochford,    Earl   of,    introduces    Lombardy 
Poplar  into  England,  231 

Sa/»jt  a/6a  vitallina  pendula,  236 

Sa/u:  babylonica,  227 

Satec  blanda,  a  hybrid,  236 

Sa/ix  koreensis,  233 

Sa/i'x  Matsudana.  233 

Sa/ix  purpurea  pendula,  236 

Sa&C  Salamonii,  a  hybrid,  236 

Sa/i'x  Warburgii,  233 

Sand  Pear,  favourite  in  China  and  Japan, 
208 

Sargent,  Professor,  introduces  Japanese 
Yew  into  United  States,  112;  first  to 
(lower  Magnolia  kobus  var.  borealis,  146; 
introduces  Magnolia  salicifolia,  147; 
hardy  European  Walnut,  in  garden  of, 
178;  introduces  Castanea  tnollissima,  189; 
introduces  Malus  Sargentii,  266 

Sassafras,  in  Tertiary  period,  18;  fall  colour- 
ation of  leaves.  36,  K) 

Savin,  dwarf  forms  of,  264 

Seed  forms  and  manner  of  dissemination, 
173 

Sequoias,  in  Tertiary  period,  18 

Shadbush.  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  40 

Smoke-tree,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  40 

Sorrel  tree,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  40 

Spruce,  Black,  dwarf  variety  of,  260 


Spruce,  Blue,  dwarf  form  of,  260 
Spruce,  Norway,  dwarf  forms  of,  259 
Spruce,  While,  dwarf  form  of,  261 
Stuarlia,  character  of  the  bark,  31 
Sumach,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  40,  41 
Sweet  Hay,  hardy  in  New  England,  136 
Sweet-gum,    distribution,    17;    in    Tertiary 
period,  18 

Taxus  baccata,  108 
Taxus  baccata  var.  fastigiata,  249 
Taxus  brevifolia,  107 
Taxus  canadensis,  107 
Taxus  chineusis,  108 
Taxus  cuspidata,  and  varieties,  108 
Taxus  cuspidata  var.  Hicksii,  250 
Taxus  floridana,  107 
Taxus  glohosa,  107 
Taxus  Wallichiana,  108 
Thuja  occidentalis  f.  Little  Gem,  263 
Thuja  occidentalis  {.  recurva  nana,  263 
Thuja  occidentalis  f.  Reedii,  263 
Thuja  occidentalis  f.  Tom-Thumb,  263 
Thuja  occidentalis  I.  umbraculifera,  263 
Thuja  occidentalis  f.  Woodwardii,  263 
Thuja  occidentalis  var.  pyramidalis,  248 
Tilia  platyphyllos  var.  pyramidalis,  246 
Topiary  work,  early  use  of  the  Yew,  105 
Truffle,  found  in  Beech  woods,  170 
Tsuga  canadensis  var.  compacta,  262 
Tsuga  canadensis  var.  pendula,  262 
Tuber  cibarium,  found  in  Beech  woods,  170 
Tulip-tree,  only  two  species  of,  15;  in  Ter- 
tiary period,  18;  fall  colouration  of  leaves. 
36,  39,  41;  fastigiate  variety  of,  244,  245 
Tupelo,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  40,  41, 
42 

Ulmus  glabra  var.  fastigiata,  245 

Ulmus  nitens  var.  stricta,  245 

Ulmus  nitens  var.   Wheatleyi  (Syn.  U.  cam- 

pestris  monumentalis),  246 
Umbrella-tree,    description    and     habitat, 

140 
Umbrella-tree,  Ear-leaf,  discovered  by   W. 

Bartram.  1  11 
Ungnard,   Dr.  von,  introduces  boreecbeat- 

nut  into  Europe,  120 
Utrecht  Botanic  Garden,  first  Cinkgo-tree  in 

Europe  planted  in,  54 

Van  Fleet,  Dr.,  work  in  producing  Chest- 
nuts immune  to  blight,  187;  with  Bush- 
chestnuts,   190 

Viburnum,  fall  colouration  of  foliage,  10 


277 


INDEX 


Walnut,  introduced  into  China  from  Per- 
sia, 22;  character  of  the  bark,  32;  fall 
colouration  of  leaves,  39 

Walnut,  Black,  valuable  timber  tree,  180 

Walnut,  Californian,  180 

Walnut,  European,  improved  by  selection, 
175,  178;  most  important  of  nut-trees, 
176;  hybrids  of,  179,  181 

Walnut,  Formosan,  180 

Walnut,  Japanese,  an  important  nut-tree, 
179 

Walnut,  Texan,  180 

Webb,  Philip  Barker,  obtains  specimens  of 
Atlas  Cedar  in  Tangier,  88 

Willow  of  Babylon,  history,  227;  native  of 
China,  232;  first  mention  of  in  Europe, 
234;  hybrids  of,  23G;  use  in  landscape 
planting,  237 

Wren,  Sir  Christopher,  plants  avenue  of 
Horsechestnuts  in  Bushey  Park,  117 


Yew,  among  earliest  forms  of  tree  vegeta- 
tion, 10;  of  historical  importance,  99;  in 
ornamental  gardening,  104;  geological 
antiquity,  106;  American  and  Asiatic 
speoies,  107;  specimens  in  the  United 
States,  110 

Yew,  Canadian,  107 

Yew,  Chinese,  108 

Yew,  European,  108,  varieties  of,  112 

Yew,  Florida,  107 

Yew,  Himalayan,  108 

Yew,  Irish,  of  fastigiate  form,  249 

Yew,  Japanese,  habitat,  107,  111;  in  Amer- 
ica, 110;  Japanese,  upright  form  of, 
originating  in  nursery  of  Isaac  Hicks 
&  Son,  250 

Yew,  Mexican,  107 

Yew,  Western,  107 

Zizyphus  saliva,  223 


278 


THE  COUNTRY  LIFE   PRESS 
GARDEN  CITY,  N.  Y. 


